Pendulous Threads
by Serena Morningstar
Summary: Four years ago, Sakura was abandoned by her team. They're back and the innocent girl they left behind now bares the jaded smile of an elite. Though Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi come baring smiles, for Sakura, they remind her of a painful past that never should have been. Teams old and new collide in friendship, rivalry and the tenuous bonds of Shinobi. Can things ever be the same?
1. Midnight Watchers

Welcome to Pendulous Threads. My name is Serena, and I shall be your guide through this tale that I've created with these lovely and borrowed characters.

Happy reading.

Naruto is not mine, but this particular plot is.

* * *

**My world was built on shifting sands and in this unpredictable place, I suddenly find myself falling down.**

A full moon hung heavily over the dark canopy of trees, letting its milky light filter through the gaps of the branches to form an unending dance of shadows. The chill air swept noisily through the foliage, disturbing the light just enough to reveal four cloaked figures flitting in and out of the darkness beneath the leaves. They stood, motionless, spread out in an uneven line amongst the branches of two great oaks. A huge, white dog stood next to one of them, soft growls coming from it as it bared its fangs into the night. Beneath the heavy hoods, the moonlight was able to catch against the white of their masks, revealing them as members of the elite. They stood silently, nothing but phantoms, listening to the sounds of the cicadas whispering loudly as the cool air swept through them.

As the wind slowly settled, a faint, almost silent whistle rang out through the trees towards the east. They all immediately straightened up, becoming more alert as another soft whistle was heard, much closer this time. The three taller silhouettes quickly came and stood next to the shortest of the four, who returned the soft calls with her own piercing whistle. Every white mask was turned towards the east, listening to the faint sounds drawing nearer.

A long tendril of pale pink was suddenly revealed as the wind swept past them, only to be caught and tucked back beneath the hood of the shortest figure by a black-clad hand. The blood-red scarf around her neck stood out against the darkness and separated her from the others, identifying her as the captain. A low, feminine whisper rang out from behind the mask as she directed the others around her.

"When they arrive, I want them flanked; Genma and Shikamaru on the wings, Kiba and Akamaru behind them. Remember gentlemen; Tsunade said that these shinobi must be protected at all cost. Expect minor injuries for sure, possible severe." she breathed, calculating the other possibilities.

"Whatever the case, these ninja have been through a lot and it's time to bring them home." she said quietly, her voice full of command.

The three men nodded and stood straighter, each unsheathing their swords. Silence pressed on as they stood, waiting for the shinobi they were to escort back to the village. Sakura sighed heavily as she shifted on her feet, glancing around wearily.

They had been in the outskirts of the forest surrounding Konoha since midnight. Having only gotten back from a four month long mission earlier that day, all of them were both physically and mentally drained. But unfortunately, they were also unable to refuse a direct order from the Godaime. Emerald eyes flashed haughtily behind her mask as she remembered the meeting with the Hokage just a few hours before.

* * *

_Sakura was jostled awake by the heavy pounding that threatened to break her apartment door down. Startled, she quickly got up from her couch and pulled open the door before it was shattered. A kunai hung loosely in her hand out of habit. As she opened the door, expecting to see one of her teammates come to annoy her, she was surprised instead, seeing Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, standing breathless in her doorway. Immediately, Sakura snapped out of her haze and stood straighter, her green eyes narrowed at the dark haired woman._

_"What is it Shizune?" she asked, a little annoyed._

_Shizune nodded in greeting as she tried to catch her breathe before addressing the young kunoichi._

_"Forgive me Sakura, but Lady Tsunade demands you and your team in her office at once. It's very urgent." she breathed._

_Sakura's eyes widened slightly and she nodded, "Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes."_

_Shizune nodded before turning and walking back down the stairs. Sakura shut the door, leaning heavily against it. Part of her was angry that Tsunade had even bothered them, knowing they had just gotten back from a long mission a few hours before, but the other half was curious and also a bit worried of what was happening. The Hokage never demanded anything without a good reason._

_Sighing, Sakura pushed herself away from the door and dragged herself to the bathroom where she splashed some cool water on her face to wake herself up. Shivering a little as the cold touched her skin, she straightened up and pulled her long roseate hair up into a high ponytail, securing the long strands away from her face. Glancing at herself in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she quickly turned and walked out, the door clicking softly behind her._

_She hastily turned down the main street of town, and immediately bumped into something hard. Stumbling backwards, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and she was immediately crushed against a hard chest. Startled, she glanced up and was met with an annoyingly familiar grin._

_"Well, good afternoon Captain. I was just coming to get you."_

_The low, flirting tone that was purely Genma grinned down at her. She huffed, rolling her eyes and gently pushed away from his warm embrace. Instead she fell into step next to him as they both turned and began heading towards the Hokage's Tower. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him from the corner of her eye._

_"Only you Genma could be up after a mere two hours of sleep, after a four month mission and still have this amount of energy." She sighed, though there was playfulness to her tone._

_"What were you really doing, hmm? Trying to seduce the poor, defenseless, under aged girls again?"_

_Genma grinned._

_"Why Sakura-Chan, is that jealousy I hear from those lovely pink lips? Are you mad that I'm seducing other girls?" he smiled mischievously, the ever-present senbon bouncing between his lips as he spoke._

_Sakura just glanced up at him unfazed with his antics and gave a smirk of her own._

_"So you do admit to the seducing of under aged girls?"_

_"Nonsense, sweetheart! I don't seduce, they come on their own." He grinned, taking a good hit off his own ego. Sakura just shook her head._

_"Gennin, you are impossible."_

_She smiled, using that special nickname that only she was allowed to use for him. Genin. She remembered when she had first started using it. It was a while ago, maybe two or three years…Kotetsu had been one of the first to hear it and asked why she had called an elite Jonin, one of the best in town, the very term that they used to call the young ninja. Sakura replied,_

_"Well isn't it obvious? I mean really Kotetsu, think about it." She had said while motioning to a red-faced and irritable Genma,_

_"Sure, he may be a Jonin, but c'mon he acts like a child most of the time!" she smarted, smiling sweetly as Kotetsu laughed. _

_Sakura was roused from her thoughts when suddenly the rest of her team fell into step beside them, and especially by the warm presence on her left, who automatically moved closer to her, his arm lightly brushing hers. Sakura glanced up to be greeted by the droll stare and lazy smirk of Shikamaru, who winked at her with his dark eyes. Immediately her face warmed and she glanced foreword again, breaking eye contact. His soft, teasing chuckle drifted behind her. Now was most definitely not the time for that…_

_She sped up their already brisk pace and soon they were standing outside of the tall double doors that led to the Hokage's office. Sakura glanced around at her team quickly and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Each one of them looked just as tired and drained as she felt, and it pained her to make them come here. Sighing, she flashed them a tired smile and knocked on the door._

_"Come." Tsunade called as the door swung open to reveal the four ninjas she had called for. Sakura entered quietly, followed by the rest of her team. Shikamaru and Kiba quickly fell into the two seats across from the desk. Sakura moved behind them, her hands resting on the back of Shikamaru's chair and Genma stood on her right, his arms folded across his chest, the senbon bouncing impatiently between his lips._

_"You sent for us, Tsunade-Sama?" Sakura asked, her voice even. Tsunade nodded and gently pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking. Sakura couldn't help but frown at the gesture, for once, Tsunade was actually looking close to her true age._

_"There has been an urgent message sent. Three shinobi are on their way back to the village and are in desperate need of an escort. All three are wounded and there is a high chance that enemy-nin are tracking them. I'm sending you four."_

_She explained as she wrote something down. Sakura's jaw clenched._

_"You're sending us out when we've just gotten back? Nee-Sama, please, couldn't you send anyone else for this? We haven't even had a chance to catch our breath!" Sakura argued, her voice rising. Her temper was slowly growing towards the woman before her. She couldn't believe that Tsunade would call them in for such a simple…C-ranked mission!_

_Her team was the best of the elite, and was the Core field team of the ANBU Black Ops. There was no way in hell that she was going to send out her squad for such an errand… especially if it meant exposing them to enemy-nin during a weakened state. Her green eyes flashed as she glared at the top of the Hokage's blonde head. Tsunade didn't even look up from her paperwork, though when she did talk, her voice sounded drained and exhausted._

_"No. I'm afraid that's not possible Sakura. It may sound simple, but this mission is S-Rank. I won't tolerate anyone else for this job, so there's no use fighting me. You're going whether you want to or not."_

_Tsunade said evenly, her amber eyes slowly drifting up to clash with green. Sakura's hands tightened until her knuckles turned white and little the back of Shikamaru's chair began to splinter as her nails bit into the wood. She opened her mouth to start screaming at her dear teacher but was quickly silenced by a firm hand on her shoulder. Glancing to her right, her eyes narrowed pointedly on Genma. He grasped her shoulder tightly and shook his head, telling her to calm down._

_"It's alright Sakura, we'll go. Since it's only an escort they need, it should be easy enough." He said with reassurance. Sakura opened her mouth again, but instead of words, she huffed and glanced down to meet Shikamaru and Kiba's eyes._

_"Don't worry about it Sakura! We're fine, let's just do this so we can come home sooner." He chirped, grinning. She couldn't help but smile softly and looked to Shikamaru who just rolled his eyes and stood up._

_"So troublesome, but whatever, let's just go already." He muttered, already walking towards the door. Sakura sighed as Kiba got up to follow him and looked back to the Godaime. _

_"Alright nee-Sama, you win. But only on one condition." She growled._

_Sakura moved closer to the desk and placed both her hands on it, staring closely into Tsunade's bright eyes regarding her warily._

_"What is it?" she asked, annoyed._

_"No more missions until after my birthday." Tsunade sighed and visibly relaxed._

_"Done. Now go! You're meeting them at the eastern border of the forest, just a little west of the path to Sand."_

_The other three were already out, but Tsunade stopped Sakura before she could shut the door behind her._

_"Sakura, remember, it is crucial that these ninja make it home alive." She whispered softly, her voice suddenly anxious. Sakura stopped on the threshold and just nodded without looking back and quietly shut the door behind her._

* * *

Sakura was suddenly pulled from her thoughts by the loud rustling that was coming from the trees in front of them. They all visibly tensed, alert to any other sounds past the approaching group. Every katana was unsheathed except for hers, but it didn't matter. She trusted her team deeply and knew they wouldn't let her get hurt. Besides, she found it much easier to deal with tired and hostile shinobi if she appeared neutral and without a weapon. Akamaru stood on her left, between her and Kiba, his soft growls melding with the other noise.

"Thirty seconds." Kiba whispered, shifting his sword from one hand to the next.

Shikamaru kept his blade in his right and let his left hang loosely by his side where his weapons pouch was. Genma already stood with his sword at the ready and his other hand filled with throwing stars. She nodded to them and instantly they flashed from her sight. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, keeping her stance relaxed. Even though she couldn't see them, she knew exactly where everyone was.

Genma was hidden against a few trees to her right, Shikamaru mirroring his position on the left. Kiba and Akamaru were a few trees before her and up, and would drop down as soon as the group passed below them, trapping them. She waited silently, counting the seconds for the group they were to meet to break through the trees in front of her.

True to Kiba's word, just as she counted thirty in her head, a loud rustling rose and three figures quietly emerged from the heavy foliage. At first, all Sakura could see were three shadowed silhouettes moving towards her slowly. Then the branches above her shifted, allowing the moonlight to filter down on their targets.

Her heart stopped.

All she could do was stand in a stunned silence, watching as three painfully familiar faces were illuminated. Slowly, they drew nearer, and she watched as their eyes literally lit up on seeing her, knowing they were just one more step away from home.

All Sakura could do was stare at the tired faces and weary smiles of three men whom she hadn't seen or heard from in over four long years.

Finally, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi came to a dead stop before her, looking ready to collapse.

* * *

What do you think? Feedback is pleasant for any writer, regardless of good or bad, all shall be taken in stride. Review, if you please.

-Serena


	2. Tension

Hello my lovelies, still here? Glad to see it. Reviews are always most welcome here, that means flames of fury too.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. This plot is.

* * *

**I came, I saw, I conquered; I'm left here bleeding, oh what went wrong? I'm down but not out and far from done…**

Tsunade sighed heavily as she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the wide-window that stood behind her desk, looking over Konoha. A crumpled piece of paper was clutched tightly in her fist.

A light knock sounded and she turned slightly to nod to Shizune who quietly slipped in, shutting the door behind her. Shizune looked at her blonde friend slowly, concerned and slightly panicked as she noticed that for once, the office was completely clear of any sake bottles.

"What's wrong Tsunade-Sama, what's happened?" she asked tentatively, going to sit down in the chair across from the desk. Tsunade just stood at the window in silence for a few long minutes. Then, slowly she turned and returned to her chair, tossing the worn piece of parchment onto the table. Shizune's eyes narrowed as she glanced at it, wondering if it could be what had her mistress all worked up.

"What is it?" she asked again, her dark eyes finally coming to rest on Tsunade's pale face as she slowly rested her forehead in her palm, breathing deeply. Shizune shifted in her chair. She didn't know why, but ever since two weeks before, Tsunade had been surprisingly sober and detached from everyone. It was beginning to scare the young kunoichi because she couldn't figure out why.

Tsunade just sighed, and began rubbing her sore temples with both hands.

"It's a letter from Hatake Kakashi, sent by one of his messenger dogs about two weeks ago."

"What! Kakashi's finally sent something? Well, what did it say, did he succeed, are they coming home? Is Naruto okay!" Shizune practically jumped out of her chair at the news and quickly grabbed the piece of paper, attempting to smooth it out on the table in front of her. Her eyes scanned the page eagerly, but she was disappointed when she realized that the paper was so worn that the ink had begun to fade and smudge severely. No doubt it was from the way Tsunade had been reading it over and over to see if it was real.

The note was gently pried from her grasp and she glanced up to see Tsunade staring at her with tired eyes. She frowned, wondering what else was wrong. After all, Tsunade should be bursting with happiness if Kakashi had finally sent some news to them, especially if it meant they were coming home!

"Why do you look like that Tsunade? Shouldn't we be happy? Actually," she stood up, suddenly remembering something, "We should tell Sakura! She'll be ecstatic!"

Tsunade just shook her head slowly.

"No Shizune, that's not it. I feel like I've done something terribly wrong. Sakura will probably not be ecstatic at all when she figures it out or anything remotely close to it…"

Shizune's eyes dropped and she sat back down, concerned about her lady's somber tone. "What's happened now? What have you done?"

"Kakashi sent this letter two weeks ago, informing me that he has succeeded in his mission and will be returning to Konoha with both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

She paused, staring at the note as if trying to reread it in its crumpled heap.

"That's good isn't it?" Shizune pushed, wondering just where the Godaime was headed. Not really sure if she was enjoying the direction.

"Perhaps if it were under different circumstances, this would be wonderful news; but it seems we've been hoping for too long and now there are problems we've seemed to have overlooked."

She pulled out two thick files from one of her drawers and dropped them onto the desk with a dull thud. On each of the file covers was a picture of a young boy. One with sunshine yellow hair and bright, mischievous blue eyes grinned back at her, the name Uzumaki Naruto written neatly across the bottom. The other file had the photo of a handsome young boy with spiky jet hair and deep, black eyes. Uchiha Sasuke was written neatly at the bottom. Shizune stared at them for a minute, wondering what was going on until her eyes finally took in the bigger picture.

"Oh god, they're ranked as Missing-Nin." She breathed, falling heavily into her chair, her eyes taking in the ugly red slash marks that adorned the faces on the photos. She had completely forgotten…forgotten that Naruto had disobeyed the word of the Hokage and immediately left the village without permission, chasing after his best friend.

"Exactly. This means that according to the laws of the village, no missing-nin should ever be allowed back into the city freely. If not killed on sight, the rouge-nin is to be taken into custody and tried for their crimes. Only then will they be judged." She recited in a clipped tone.

"We must follow through with the rules."

Shizune tensed at this, and her head snapped up warily, yet she already knew the answer.

"And what's Sakura got to do with this?" she whispered. Tsunade turned away in her chair, her gaze fixed out towards the town and the faraway gates leading into the forest. It was dark outside, the only light coming from the full moon and only a few city lights.

"I sent Sakura's team to retrieve them."

* * *

Sakura's head reeled as she gazed into the faces of three people whom she was positive she would never see ever again. Their tired eyes looked at her expectantly, their stance was loose and they looked ready to collapse if they stopped. She mentally cursed her teacher.

_Oh Tsunade, my lovely mentor, wait until I get my hands on you!_

Thankfully, they couldn't see anything past the white ANBU mask and heavy cloak, her bright hair carefully tucked away under her hood, secured with the red scarf, because if they did see her now, she was sure that there would be completely different reactions to the ones she saw now. Her heart beat a little quicker as she watched her old teacher and friend, Kakashi, step towards her and inclined his head.

"I'm guessing you're here to meet us?" he asked quietly. His one black eye scorched her, and she was almost positive that he could see right through her mask.

Sighing, she literally had to force herself to remain steady as his cool voice washed over her. It was much more painful to hear than she imagined. She nodded to him, and her green eyes began to drift around to the other familiar faces of the two men who stood behind Kakashi.

The light danced across their forms like fire, casting them into and out of shadow. But, the things she did manage to see of them were enough to make her want to scream.

_I can't believe it…they're alive! After all this time of rumors and dead hope, they're here…_

But unfortunately, her inner happiness was short lived. As she took in Naruto's spiky blonde, sunshine-yellow hair and sky-blue eyes and Sasuke's jet-black stare, the realization of just who exactly stood before her hit.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as everything clicked into place and she cursed.

_Damn you Tsunade! Damn you to hell! You knew and still you sent me, of all the people in ANBU!_

Before her stood not one, but two missing-nin of Hidden Leaf, and even though part of her mind fought desperately to just ignore it and bring them home, the other, more logical and ANBU part of her brain refused to let this pass. The voices of her old ANBU officers and trainers and even the Godaime herself whispered through her head like a mantra…

Rules are rules, mo matter the circumstances. ANBU always follow orders and always stick to protocol! The mission comes above all else, no matter what!

That rule was so far ingrained into her head, into all of the ANBU Black Ops, even more so pushed upon the leaders…she immediately knew she had no choice in the matter, and it killed her.

Sighing tiredly, she stilled for a minute, listening to the other sounds around her. Her posture would alert her team, yet she already knew they were probably already watching and ready, probably having already come to the same conclusion as her. Her jade eyes fixed firmly on Kakashi as she watched him turn his back on her to speak with his companions, and casually, she lifted a gloved hand to her face as if she were just adjusting her mask. But, instead of going to her mask, her hand went to the side of her hood where her ear was and raised two fingers, tapping them against her head lightly.

It was that signal that alerted her team into action. Move the innocent out of the way and surround the enemy, which basically translated into get Kakashi away from Naruto and Sasuke and close in. Suddenly, with a blinding speed, she flashed away from them.

Kakashi looked over his shoulder in surprise and his black eye widened as he was roughly tackled and pinned to the ground by a huge, heavy mass that turned out to be a monstrous dog. Naruto and Sasuke gasped, their eyes also widening in shock and moved to help the older man, drawing kunai, but it was too late. They were stopped dead in their tracks. More dark figures had suddenly faded out of the shadows around them and the missing-nin found themselves pinned between a lethal ANBU holding their arms behind their backs at a painful angle and the razor edge of a katana pressed dangerously against their throats.

Kakashi watched the scene with slight panic, yet he could barely move thanks to the bulk of the huge beast on his chest, pinning his arms down. In fact, if this dog stayed on him any longer, he was pretty sure his lungs would collapse, and every time he did try to move, the dog would growl, baring his razor fangs and drip more spit onto his face. So all he could do was watch whatever was happening to his ex-students with silent worry.

Sakura stepped out from the shadows next to where Kakashi was pinned to the ground by Akamaru, Kiba flanking her on the left while Genma and Shikamaru were the ones holding Naruto and Sasuke. She stepped up to them slowly, watching their faces. Even though a moment ago they looked ready to collapse, she saw in their eyes a new edge, which told her that they were awake now and would fight for their lives if they had to. She desperately prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that.

Stepping up to them, she unsheathed her own blade and let it rest loosely in her right hand. When she spoke, it was in the cool tone of an ANBU captain; firm, smooth and in Sakura's case, surprisingly void of any emotion. She knew her job and what she had to do to complete her task. Kami help whoever got in her way.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, "she paused for a second, blinking at the sounds of their names coming from her lips. How long had it been since she'd said those names aloud? Ah…how long had it been since she even thought about the men standing before her…She roughly shook away her scattered thoughts and shifted the blade in her hand. She didn't know why, but something was beginning to make her blood boil, and soon, her temper would flare. She couldn't pinpoint the reason why, but she had a nagging feeling that it had something to do with the scathing looks Naruto and Sasuke were shooting at her masked and cloaked form. Her eyes narrowed sharply behind her mask, but she quickly continued,

"You left the village of Konohagakure without permission, therefore by your actions you have abandoned and betrayed that which was once your home. Do you deny this?"

The angry glares quickly faded from the faces of the two captives, being replaced by pained expressions as they heard the charges against them. Their eyes turned away from her then, falling to look at her feet.

"No." they whispered. Sakura frowned as she watched; suddenly wishing she could throw herself into their arms again and tell them everything would be okay. Fate was a cruel mistress and one hell of a bitch when it wanted to be. She sighed, before she continued, her voice softening the smallest amount.

"Now you seek entrance back into the Hidden Village that you have left. Are you here at your own will?" she said, her eyes still fixed on them. They still had their heads down, eyes downcast towards the grassy floor.

"Yes." They said again in unison.

"Then, by your own free will and by entering the Village Hidden in the Leaves, do you swear to accept the consequences of your return?"

Naruto's head snapped up immediately at this, bobbing up and down as much as it could without cutting himself on the sword at his throat.

"I swear! I will accept any punishment…just let us in!" He yelled, his loud voice carrying endlessly through the quiet of the dark forest. She stared at him for a long moment, and then inclined her head towards Sasuke inquiringly. His eyes were up again, and she almost gasped in surprise at the penetrating way he stared at her. For once, his eyes weren't guarded. His shield was down for a brief moment, allowing her to read him like a book. He too nodded his head slightly, "I swear."

Sakura nodded, silently relieved with their honest answers, because if they had answered falsely, or attempted resistance, Shikamaru and Genma would've cut their throats without a second thought. She shivered at the thought, inwardly cringing, especially since she knew it would've been by her order. Stepping back again, returning to stand by Kiba, she sheathed her katana and crossed her arms.

"Very well then, both of you have agreed to the circumstances of your return to Konohagakure. But remember also, that should you put up any resistance or try to attack, we won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?"

Both men nodded solemnly. She nodded to Shikamaru and Genma, who slowly and a bit reluctantly withdrew their swords and stepped away from the two men. Their eyes still glared at them and they kept their weapons out, because, in all honesty, as much as they were relieved to see their long lost comrades…it was also Genma, Kiba and Shikamaru who wanted to kill them both the most.

Especially Kiba and Shikamaru…

Sakura heard movement behind her and turned to see Kiba calling off Akamaru and pulling up a worn and annoyed Kakashi. Her eyes widened and she quickly walked over to them, also helping up the tall ninja.

_Oh Kami, I almost forgot about Kakashi!_

Pulling him up, she quickly bowed her head lightly. Kakashi just brushed himself off and ran a hand through his silver hair, coughing lightly. It took a lot of self-restraint for Sakura not to ask him if he was alright. The medic-nin in her was screaming. Instead, she glanced up at him, her voice cool and indifferent once again.

"Hatake Kakashi, as promised by the Lady Hokage, we are here to escort you back to Konoha, but seeing as how you too were in the company of criminals, if you cause any trouble we'll have to take you into custody." She stated, peering up at him closely.

Kakashi also looked down at the young ANBU captain, and he almost choked again as his eye caught a flash of emerald green through the eyeholes. He stared at her for a long minute, thoughts flitting through his head as he tried to see past the white and red mask, but the moonlight shifted again, and her eyes faded to black once more. He shook his head lightly. No, this couldn't possibly be her… he thought, though doubt lingered in his subconscious. There was something about this person, about all of them in fact that seemed achingly familiar. Glancing at the small group, he tried to sense anything that would give them away, but only saw the same dark cloaks and white masks. Sighing, and blaming his delirious mind, he quickly shook his head at her.

"Don't worry Captain; all we want to do is get back in one piece."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at him. Never, in the seven years that she knew him, had Kakashi looked so tired and worn then now. Without a word, she turned and nodded to her team, who quickly fell in around the three men, Kiba and Akamaru at the back, Genma and Shikamaru on the wings and Sakura at the head. With a final look at the group she pumped chakra into her legs and turned in the direction of the gates.

"Let's go." She ordered, and wordlessly, the group of seven tired and worn shinobi flew through the trees, all with the single thought of getting home in their minds.

* * *

And so the story continues. Leave me sweet-nothings of your love and hate. That means reviews in writer-speak.

- Serena


	3. Tempest Manifest

Chapter three, for your pleasure. Happy reading. Reviews make me want to write more.

Naruto is not mine, the plot is.

* * *

**There's a storm brewing my dear, and I suggest you run before she breaks.**

Sakura flew through the trees at breakneck speed; only the single thought of getting as far away from the three men she had just reacquainted herself with the only thing pushing her faster. When the tall gates to Konoha finally appeared through the thick branches, she slowed her pace to a dead stop, catching her breath. Soft creaks were heard behind her as the others caught up, breaths coming in gasps from following her. She held up a hand and quickly dropped down onto the worn path below, landing deftly and pulled her cloak around her tighter.

The other six fell in around her and she turned her head, calling softly over her shoulder.

"We walk from here gentlemen, and I warn you now. Don't you dare try anything that would be remotely threatening." She ordered her voice low in warning. She met each of their captive's eyes, making sure they understood how serious things were. She didn't care how powerful they were. One false move and heads would roll. Literally.

They each nodded in turn, Naruto throwing in a sheepish smile, trying to reassure her that they were sincere. Shaking her head, she began walking at a brisk pace, muttering under her breath the entire time. Kiba, Shikamaru and Genma all looked around at each other, catching the amusement in each others eyes and smirking at their captain's antics. Kakashi just kept walking forward, his eyes boring into the back of Sakura's cloaked head. Sasuke and Naruto walked along side him, throwing nervous glances everywhere as they got closer to the tall gates.

Finally, after about a mile, the group stopped and gathered behind Sakura, the intimidating gates to Konohagakure looming over them. As they slowly crept closer, Kakashi immediately saw the familiar face of Kotetsu, leaning heavily against one gate, his eyes closed and a kunai dangling loosely from his hand. He watched as Sakura, who was a few steps ahead of him pause for a second as she saw the dozing man and then suddenly stiffen and proceed to stomp over to Kotetsu, clearly fuming. A small smile graced his masked lips. Kotetsu was definitely in for a rude awakening.

Sakura huffed as she took in the sleeping shinobi who was supposed to be guarding the gate. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she realized that she didn't have the time, energy or patience to deal with this right now. Pulling out a throwing star, she held it between her fingers and then quickly sent it flying towards the man, spinning with a deadly accuracy. It struck the wood an inch away from Kotetsu's left ear, jolting him awake and causing him to jump immediately into a defensive stance, the kunai now in a tight grip. His eyes were wild for a second as he took in his surroundings and finally widened at the sight of the cloaked ANBU before him. He stood up straight and quickly lowered the kunai, bringing his two fingers up to his temple in salute.

"Captain! Sorry! I-uh…didn't see you." He said lamely. Sakura crossed her arms and sighed loudly.

"Yes Kotetsu, I noticed that! Now, the point of me waking you up at all is that I have two criminals with me and I need you to lock the gate behind us." She said. Kotetsu's eyebrows rose at the sound of missing-nin and he quickly leaned, peering over Sakura's shoulder at the three men behind her not clad in ANBU. Letting out a low whistle, he shook his head in disbelief.

"Uzumaki and Uchiha…who would've guessed they were still alive." He muttered, and then realizing what he said, he glanced apologetically at Sakura and nodded, quickly stepping away from her.

"Alright, one locked gate, as you wish Captain." He rambled, already holding the gate open as they filtered through. He nodded to each of them as they passed, and Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi guessed that he probably knew who was behind each mask. Kotetsu grinned as Kakashi passed and quickly grabbed his arm in greeting.

"Hatake! You're back too, welcome home!" he smiled. Kakashi just nodded, smiling slightly before stepping away. Well, at least someone was happy to see him.

Sakura was the last one in the gate and the glare she gave Kotetsu was practically scathing. He smiled nervously and stepped back, shutting the gate behind them and disappearing to the outside again. A loud click was heard as the gate was closed and locked. Satisfied, Sakura took up the lead again and they immediately began walking silently through the quiet streets of the sleeping village.

"We have to move quickly, thankfully it's still a few hours from dawn, but still, if someone catches sight of them, there'll be hell to pay. It's very rare that missing-nin are brought home, you know that!"

Kakashi heard the harried whisper of the masked guard beside him as the person moved ahead to fall into step beside the captain. The low tenor of the voice stirred the edges of his brain, and he tried to pinpoint a face. Slightly curious, he glanced over at Sasuke and Naruto, who had also heard and glanced around with slight recognition in their eyes yet no one could place a face in their heads. The two ANBU moved a few steps faster, just out of Kakashi's hearing. Shikamaru looked over at Sakura as he spoke, catching her blazing emerald eyes behind her mask.

"Watch Sakura, tomorrow the entire town will know and then the riots will start. Are you sure that you know what you're doing?" he asked, questioning her, there was a sharp edge to his voice that made Sakura flinch behind her mask. Great, just what she needed right now. Now, he was angry with her. Sakura just sighed as she shook her head.

"Stop it Nara! Don't you dare tell me what to do! All this is just as confusing and strange to me as it is to you. You forget, this was a direct command from Tsunade, I'm simply obeying orders."

"The order was to escort the shinobi, meaning Kakashi, home. Not pick up two damned men in the process! We should have killed them on sight! "He growled, his voice slightly rising.

"Our orders were to escort the group of shinobi home! Tsunade made it clear that they are to make it back alive under any circumstances. So don't argue with me! Remember Shikamaru, you may be my second, but you still fall under my command." She hissed, clearly signaling the end of the conversation. It wasn't until after those words left her lips that she realized what she said and her eyes went wide.

"Damn it Shika, that's not what I meant…I mean…I'm sorry-" she whispered quickly as she tried to touch his arm lightly. Shikamaru stiffened as if she had struck him across the face and roughly pulled away from her. His deep eyes glared at her through his mask and he looked away, his voice was strained and he nodded his head slowly. So, that's how it was going to be…

"Pardon me, Captain."

Without another word he fell back and into step next to Naruto, who just glanced at him nervously and moved away a little at the tense aura coming from the ANBU. Sakura sighed, cursing her evil tongue and was about to turn around and apologize, but immediately thought better. She guessed it would probably look very weird if she suddenly turned around and threw her arms around him. At least, to the three shinobi walking between them it would be odd. Gritting her teeth, she clenched her fists tightly.

"Idiot!" she muttered darkly, quickening her pace. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to hug him or punch his lights out at the moment.

Eventually, they managed to slip through the quiet streets of Konoha unnoticed. They entered through the ground floor, and made their way up to the Hokage's office. As they made their way up through the halls, they passed more people, mostly Chunin and a few Jonin. The people they passed immediately parted when they saw the masked faces approaching, and those who also recognized the facades of the missing-nin immediately paled and turned away. Kakashi guessed it wasn't just because of the ANBU masks. The three of them had the strong feeling that there was something much more to this strange team.

These strangers had a powerful, dangerous and almost tangible air around them. It was this aura that made people back up, giving them more than enough space and lower their heads in respect…

* * *

Tsunade sat up quickly as she heard the heavy knock at her door. Rubbing the sleep from her tired, amber eyes, she nodded to an anxious Shizune who immediately went to the door and opened it. The light from the corridor flooded into her dim office, and seven figures appeared on the threshold before her.

"Come." She called, her voice strained.

They filed in slowly. Shikamaru first, followed by Kiba, Akamaru and Genma. Then came Kakashi trailed by an unusually quiet Naruto and an extremely pale Sasuke. Sakura brought up the rear, quietly shutting the door behind her and locking it. They slowly assembled in front of her desk, the ANBU drifting back so that Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were stuck right before her piercing eyes. She regarded the three closely until they began to squirm beneath her scrutiny. She blinked, breaking her trance and her gaze drifted over to Sakura.

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever until it was finally Tsunade who was forced to turn away from her student's cool stare. She was silent for many moments before she finally sighed heavily, looking up at the three men before her.

"Well Kakashi, it only took you four years, but you've finally managed to complete your mission." She sighed, her voice eerily calm. Kakashi faltered a little at this, surprised and a little wary of her serene tone. He had been expecting yelling and weapons flying as soon as they walked through the door, so this calm, unaffected image of the temperamental woman unnerved him.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He said, bowing his head.

"You will come back here, tomorrow at noon, along with you-"she absently motioned to the ANBU squad and then, pointed to the door all at once. "Now leave us."

Kakashi hesitated for a second, looking at his students for a long minute before nodding and disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke.

Sasuke and Naruto suddenly looked sick as their teacher was gone without a word, leaving them to their deaths no doubt. The ANBU assembled all looked at each other with confused eyes. Why the hell was she asking them to leave? Sakura stepped forward, and stared at the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, you're not really asking us to leave now? There are two missing-nin in custody-"

"They are now in my custody, and yes Captain. Kakashi and your team are dismissed. I do not want to see your faces again until noon, am I clear?" It wasn't a question. It was an order. Sakura was ready to blow-up on the older woman and was a heartbeat away from it, until she saw the vein pulsing on Tsunade's neck. Thinking better, she instead bowed and quickly stepped back, away towards the door, much to her team's surprise. Glancing between Sakura and Tsunade, they quickly realized what was happening and decided it would be much easier…not to mention much safer if they followed their Captain's lead. They fell in around Sakura and all bowed to the Hokage.

"Until tomorrow then, Tsunade-sama." Sakura muttered, before she stepped out, Genma, Kiba, Akamaru and Shikamaru trailing her. Shizune also slipped out right before the door shut, looking annoyed and slightly pale. Genma pushed off his hood and pulled his mask off, a senbon already in his hand, ready to chew on, and looked over at the dark-haired woman, his eyebrows raised curiously.

"What's wrong with you Shizune?" he asked, pulling the rest of his cloak off and tossing it over his shoulder. "Scared?"

Shizune nodded absently, still staring at the thick door, separating them from the Hokage. Kiba had already pulled off his cloak and mask and was loosening the straps of his arm guards.

"You shouldn't be scared! What the hell are you freaking out over? Those two don't stand a chance against Tsunade." He smirked; Sakura just rolled her eyes, sliding up her own mask and took a deep breath. She was looking down the hall to where Shikamaru had sulked off to, debating whether to follow him when she heard,

"That's exactly it. I'm not scared for myself or Tsunade you morons! I'm more worried about Sasuke and Naruto." She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself, still frowning at the door. Sakura's head snapped around, and she paled instantly, waiting for the blinding explosion.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave them alone after all…

* * *

Slowly but surely, progress. *smiles* Reviews are a lovely thing.

- Serena


	4. Damage Control

Thank you all so much for the beautiful reviews. I am so happily surprised at the feedback my little story is acquiring. You all are amazing.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. Just this plot.

* * *

**The question isn't the price… it's whether or not you're willing to pay the price.**

The door to Tsunade's office clicked quietly behind the retreating group. Naruto and Sasuke just glanced at each other nervously as sweat made its way down their worn clothes clinging to their skin. This was it. There was no chance of survival. Who would imagine that their last moments on Earth would be spent in the Hokage's Office? Naruto shifted on his feet, his baby-blue eyes looking anywhere except at the woman before them. Sasuke looked ready to be sick as he stood as still as possible, staring at a point on Tsunade's cracked desk. The Godaime herself was silent as the minutes ticked by, sitting there looking at them with her piercing eyes.

Finally without a word, she sighed heavily and reached into a drawer and pulled out a tall, thin vial of clear liquid. The two boys watched her with quiet fascination as she pulled out two small sake cups and set them on her desk, poured them full then pulled the stopper from the vial and let three drops fall into each cup. Nodding in satisfaction, she quickly put the vial away and stood, motioning to the boys to each take a cup.

"Drink." She commanded, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared them down. Both stood, unmoving, and stared at the cups warily. Sasuke glanced from her to the cup.

"What's in-"

"You're not in a position to be asking questions Uchiha." She glared, her voice slightly rising as she once again motioned to the cups. "Now drink."

Naruto and Sasuke took the cups after some hesitation and finished them in one gulp. Immediately after they set the cups down, they felt impossibly weak and would have crashed to the floor if Tsunade hadn't pulled over chairs for them to collapse on. They sat in heaps and stared at Tsunade with dull eyes as she stood in front of them, leaning against her desk.

"What was in there?" Naruto slurred out, rubbing his eyes as his vision faltered.

Tsunade took a deep breath and counted to ten. How she had managed not to kill these boys yet was amazing, especially to her.

"Let's just say it's something that will assure me of your honesty, and keep you from arguing against me." She growled. Naruto flinched as her voice slowly rose. She continued without even glancing at them as she picked up a folder and flipped through it almost absently.

"So, tonight two missing-nin of Konohagakure have returned of their own will. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, do you agree with this, that you have both returned to Konoha by your own accord and not from the pressure of an outside force?" Both boys nodded up at her with glazed eyes.

"Yes Tsunade baa-chan, we came because we wanted to…" Naruto mumbled, rubbing his head. He felt as if a dozen kunai were lodged in his skull, attempting to hit his brain yet failing miserably and instead left him aching.

"You sure have caused a lot of trouble in the past four years for us, did you know that?" she sighed, picking up the other file behind her. Her eyes flashed as she glanced at Sasuke over the top of the paper.

"Are you aware of the bounty for your head?" she asked in a dangerously calm tone. Sasuke just kept his eyes glued to the floor. Tsunade sighed heavily and threw both files back onto her desk as she pinched the bridge of her nose tightly. It was seriously way too late to be dealing with this, she thought as she glanced at the clock on the wall above the door. It read 3:27 a.m. But, she knew it couldn't be helped.

Suddenly, she slammed both of her palms onto her desk, which immediately splintered into two causing papers to fly everywhere in the soft uproar. The shock made both boys jump and look away from her.

"You don't know how lucky you two are that Kakashi was with you when you arrived! Because I swear to you both that if he wasn't, you would've been killed on sight!" she screamed, her eyes blazing. All Naruto and Sasuke could do was back into their chairs as far as it would allow them to and stare up at her in fear. Tsunade huffed, glaring down at them with a fist raised, looking ready to pommel them in their weakened state. Instead, she yelled out and stormed away from them, retreating behind the ruins of her desk and collapsing into her chair. After a few minutes of silence and deep breathes, she managed to keep her voice to a reasonable level, yet they could clearly see the vein still pulsing in her neck and forehead.

"I suppose it can't be helped, but with my acceptance of your presence in the village again, so too does Konoha accept you back." She sighed. Naruto and Sasuke perked up at this and sat up straighter, already their minds were slowly coming into the present and away from whatever Tsunade had given them.

"However," she continued, "There will be repercussions. Do you swear to uphold any and all punishment I, as the Godaime Hokage, place upon you?" They glanced at each other for a brief second before nodding.

"Yes Hokage-sama. We accept all faults for our actions." Sasuke said evenly. Tsunade nodded.

"Very well…then these are the terms." She said, looking at both of them in the eyes to make sure they were paying close attention. They were both damned if they made her repeat anything.

"You both are to be on probation for the rest of the year."

Naruto practically choked as he heard this. The stabbing pain in his throbbing skull seemed forgotten for a minute and he jumped up, eyes bright and fists clenched. Tsunade had to suppress a grin as an image of the hot-headed little boy he had been before he left flashed in her mind's eye. For a second, it was as if Naruto had never left. But she quickly halted her smile and just glared, listening to his rants.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, probation?"

Tsunade glared at the boy and stood up so that she towered over him. "Shut up! You are lucky that this is all you're getting off with! If I were a lesser person then I would've told my agents to execute you on sight instead of bringing you back you little brat!" she screamed. Naruto huffed and glared right back at the hissing woman but managed to keep his mouth shut.

"What exactly does this probation entail, Tsunade-sama?" Sasuke said in a much steadier and quiet voice as he glared at Naruto to stay quiet. The throbbing in his head from whatever Tsunade had given them to weaken them was beginning to clear a little and he was actually starting to absorb what he was hearing. Tsunade huffed and glanced at him, trying to calm down and crossed her arms. Both Sasuke and the Godaime sent warning glares to Naruto, making sure he didn't say anything.

"It means Sasuke that for the rest of the year; you and Naruto are off the mission roster. You won't be able to leave the Fire Country for the next year either. For the first month, you shall be nothing but a civilian. No training, no weapons, and nothing that has to do with being a shinobi. After that, if all goes well, then you will be reinstated as Genin, your last recorded rank before leaving the village." Sasuke and Naruto looked ready to argue, yet held their tongues. Actually, Naruto was turning an impressive shade of red and looked ready to explode, but Tsunade sat back down in her chair, ignoring him.

"After you are reinstated as Genin, you will be allowed to train, under supervision of course, and can participate in the next Chunin Exam in July. If you pass the exams-" they both scoffed at this, earning a killing glare from Tsunade,

"If you pass, then you will be eligible to be placed back on the roster for D and C class missions within the village and then, finally, after your probation ends, you will be allowed B and A class missions and your analyses for Jounin Rank will begin." she finished.

"Agreed?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." They said in unison, suddenly feeling very tired and drained. The color drained from Naruto's face and Sasuke just sat silently. Listening to the plan of their future, suddenly all that mattered now was sleep. Tsunade could swear she saw the light leave their eyes, and it pained her but she also knew she couldn't change anything. There were just certain events that had to be accounted for. They truly were lucky that Tsunade was being this generous. No doubt that if they had showed up without an escort, things would have been much messier.

A piece of her temper melted away when she finally realized that, after four impossibly long years, her boys were finally back. The two insane and fearless young-men of the entire rookie nine, whom she thought of as sons more than any others, especially Naruto, were finally back where they belonged and once again, the dysfunctional family that was Konoha was complete for the moment. A small, sadistic smile appeared on her ruby lips and she finally grinned at them. Genuine happiness and amusement shone on her beautiful face.

They just stared at her with dull, tired eyes.

"Cheer up boys, there's only nine more months in the year!" she chirped. Naruto and Sasuke just groaned.

* * *

Sakura stood leaning against the wall across from the door leading to Tsunade's office. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was chewing relentlessly on her bottom lip as she debated weather or not to barge into Tsunade's office and keep her from massacring Naruto and Sasuke. Kiba yawned from his spot on the floor as he sat against the wall, reclining with Akamaru. His mask was pushed up to the side of his head and his cloak and arm guards sat in a heap on his lap. He tapped Sakura's leg that was next to him, causing her to look down at him.

"What?" she asked, not liking his annoying stare. Kiba just sighed and shook his head.

"Kura, we've been waiting here for twenty minutes and we still haven't heard anything! Believe me, I think they're going to be okay!" he huffed, clearly irritated. After all, they had just gotten back from a multi-month mission the day before, and then suddenly assigned escort duty. She completely understood his need to want to get home and sleep. But still…Sakura sighed, still chewing on her lip and glanced at the door again. True, they had been there for at least thirty minutes, maybe even longer and so far there was no screaming, cursing or shrieks of pain that could be identified beyond the door.

"C'mon. I'll walk you home and then we'll all see Baa-chan tomorrow." Kiba coaxed as he stood up and gathered his gear under his arm. Sakura sighed and nodded, finally giving in to her sleep depraved body and its pleas for her to go home.

"Alright, I'll leave." She huffed, running a hand through her long rose locks and tucked her mask under her arm.

"But what about you Shizune, shouldn't you be getting home too?" she asked the dark-haired woman across from her as she started picking up the rest of her scattered gear. Genma suddenly appeared from somewhere further down the hall, his cloak around his shoulders loosely and his mask hanging from his neck. He had already put on his backwards headband and a senbon gleamed from the corner of his mouth.

"I'll walk her home." He grinned innocently as he stopped next to Shizune, who was glaring steadily up at him yet there was a faint blush to her cheeks. Sakura and Kiba met with amused and slightly confused glances, before laughing. Genma and Shizune? Since when? They were suddenly dying to ask what was going on. Shizune just narrowed her eyes on both of them as Sakura stepped foreword to hug her friend and fellow apprentice, winking at her.

"Sure Genin, just make sure you get enough sleep for tomorrow's meeting okay?" she teased as she stood on tiptoe to peck him lightly on the cheek. She could hear Shizune choke next to her and glanced over to see the woman, who was now red enough to rival a tomato, and looked ready to kill. She winked at both of them, before taking off down the corridor with Kiba and Akamaru, laughing the whole way.

When they were finally out of the building, Sakura stopped their sprint to catch her breathe. After a minute she straightened and walked between Kiba and Akamaru towards the block where their apartments were. The town was silent and empty as they slipped through the streets, lost in their own thoughts. Sakura couldn't believe that they were back. Never in a million years could she ever imagine what had happened that night. Oh how Fate plays its merry games, poking and pulling until there's nothing left to give. Never before had Sakura ever felt such a fluctuating range of emotions. All in the span of a few ours, the steel cage of indifference and frigidity that had been pressed upon her since she had first applied for ANBU had been shattered into pieces, allowing bits of emotions she thought long gone to resurface and engulf her all at once. She didn't know whether to be thankful or weep in frustration.

The appearance of her old team evoked in her things that shouldn't have been there at all. She wanted to kill them and throw her arms around them all at once. There was no doubt in her mind that things in the village were about to change drastically, and it would be up to her to adapt to make it work. But wait; was it completely up to her to make the change? No. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Too much had changed for things to go back to the way before when Team Kakashi was indeed still Team Kakashi. When Naruto and Sasuke left, she wasn't the only one affected, albeit she felt the greatest loss…but she was most definitely not the only one. All of the genin who had trained beside them were also unknowingly left behind. The very people whom Naruto and Sasuke had called friends. Tsunade would never admit it now, but Sakura was there, and had seen the rare moment when the exceptionally strong woman broke down and wept the day Naruto left against her orders. Then, there was Hinata. The young heiress who had been madly in love with the stupid blonde since they were in the academy. Naruto crushed her heart the moment he stepped through the gates to pursue his best friend. All of Konoha had been shot when its too greatest prides were ranked as criminals and Sakura knew it would be a long recovery back into a descent state of normalcy now that they were back.

Just as they were passing a deep blue apartment, Sakura caught the slightest movement from the corner of her eye. Glancing up, she saw a curtain swaying in a window that had been left open on the fifth floor. A silhouette looked down at her from the open window. She stopped in the street, staring up as the person moved away from the window and her line of sight. Kiba realized she wasn't following him and stopped to glance back at her.

"What's up?" he asked, stifling a yawn with his hand. Sakura shook her head and shifted her gear to her other arm, running a hand through her long hair.

"Nothing, but I think I'll stop here for tonight." She said, nodding up to the apartment. Kiba glanced at the building as if just realizing where they were and looked at her pointedly.

"You think that's a good idea? Maybe you should give him a minute to adjust don't you think?"

Sakura just shook her head again, frowning slightly as she turned, already heading for the entrance. "Go home Kiba, don't make her wait more than she has to."

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine." Kiba shrugged and sighed. "Whatever you want Kura, just do us a favor and don't kill him okay? Oh, and don't be late tomorrow…"

Sakura just waved him off as she slipped into the building and out of Kiba's sight. Once inside, she stopped for a minute at the bottom of the stairs, just listening to the quiet. She took a few deep breathes before beginning her ascent. She kept counting in her head as she passed each landing. One, two, three…four…she stopped on the landing to the fifth floor. Slowly, she walked through the long hall before turning right down another corridor filled with doors on either side with painted numbers on each of them. She stopped at the eighth door on her left and knocked softly. No one answered it. She knocked again, harder this time, and the door slowly creaked open a little as she pulled her arm away. Silently she slipped inside, shutting the door behind her.

"I should kill you for breaking and entering you know." A deep and quiet voice said from across the room. Sakura looked up as she dropped her stuff onto the floor with a dull thud. The room was completely dark, except for the bright moonlight that filtered in from the open window in the next room. The figure leaned languidly against the doorway leading into the next room, arms crossed, and the dim glow of a cigarette the only thing illuminating his features.

"What do you want Sakura?"

"I came to apologize…I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said earlier. I wasn't thinking-" she started, taking a step towards him.

"Don't. "

"What?" she whispered, thrown by his harsh tone. That single word cut her off and she faltered in her steps towards him. His entire stance was tense, as if her very presence had put him on the very edge. He just looked at her for a long second, his deep eyes penetrating her. He shook his head and pulled the cigarette from his lips, flicking it into the ashtray on the table next to him. Then, in one fluid moment that only a ninja was capable of, he had her pinned against the door behind her, the breath knocked from her lungs. His arms were on either side of her head and his body was pressed tightly up against hers, making all of the blood in her body rush to her face.

"Shikamaru…I'm sorry." She tried again, her eyes stared down at his chest, refusing to meet his deep stare. The hand that rested to the left of her head suddenly slammed into the wood behind her, cracking it. She winced, yet stayed put.

It was extremely rare that Shikamaru ever lost his temper, but when he did he was even more terrifying than Tsunade. Sakura wasn't a coward, actually she was the farthest thing from it, and there were only so many things in the world that scared her…and unfortunately, an angry Shikamaru was one of those things. Though, since it was she who had screwed up royally this time, it was only fair that she fix it.

"Don't bother apologizing if you don't mean it. If you really were sorry than you would never have said what you did in the first place." He muttered through clenched teeth.

Shikamaru clenched his fists tightly as he stared down at the girl he had been with for the past four years and took deep breaths. What she had said earlier shouldn't have cut him like it did. It shouldn't have affected him at all. But it did. And he didn't know why. Maybe it was because she had never pulled ranks before that night, in all the three long years that they had been ANBU. No, he knew exactly why he was pissed off now. Knew exactly why it pained him to look at the beautiful face in front of him. It was the truth that Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were back. He didn't like that fact at all. Actually, if he had had his way, then there would've been two more names scrawled onto the Memorial stone rather than two more shinobi added to the roster. Damn. Things were about to get a hell of a lot more complicated in the Hidden Leaf village. Wherever there was stability and change decided to visit, chaos and mayhem were sure to follow.

Sighing heavily he tried to relax as he took deep breaths. He knew in his head that Sakura hadn't meant what she said. Hell, if he really thought about it she really was just following orders. He would be a real asshole if he pinned the blame on her, and he couldn't do that. "Go home Sakura." He whispered as he pushed away from her and turned, walking back towards the other room.

"Shikamaru!" she called out suddenly, tentatively. For some reason, Sakura knew that if Shikamaru walked away from her now it would kill her. Shikamaru glanced back at her over his shoulder. Seeing her standing there in his dark apartment with her arms wrapped around herself, and that lost look in her jade-green eyes…she looked like a little girl again. And to see the fierce, temperamental ANBU captain fade to the small and scared girl of four years ago made all of his anger dissipate for the moment.

He turned around, took the two steps to her before pulling her into his arms and crushing his mouth to hers. Sakura gasped as his kiss rang through her like a bell. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer as he wrapped his arms around her waist, grinding their bodies together. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, making her gasp and he took the opportunity to boldly slip his tongue into her mouth, deepening their kiss. Sakura moaned loudly, pulling him closer as she ran her fingers through his shoulder length hair, loving it as the strands fell through her fingers like silk. They battled for dominance as their breathing got shorter and clutched onto each other desperately, begging the other for more. He groaned as she broke their heated kiss to trail wet, open mouth kisses down his neck. God, what this woman did to him…his body immediately reacted and it took all of his control not to mention his sanity to not throw her down and have his way with her right there.

Shikamaru was just reaching to unzip her white ANBU vest and felt her hands slide beneath his shirt, tracing the smooth muscles of his abdomen when his mind finally woke up. In their relationship, it was usually Shikamaru who issued the physical needs, and Sakura who told him to slow down, but now that the tables were seemingly turned, he just couldn't bring himself to take advantage of her. Especially since he knew she probably wasn't thinking straight right now. Inwardly cursing and damning himself to hell for being a nice guy, he somehow managed to cancel out everything else his body was telling him and grabbed Sakura's hands, which were beginning to wander lower and lower and gently pulled away from her.

"We can't Kura…" He whispered, stroking the side of her face gently as they worked to catch their breaths. Her wide, green eyes snapped up to his with an intense stare that scared him a little bit. Never before had he seen such an uncertainty in those eyes.

"You don't want me?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. Crap. That was definitely not what he meant. He pulled her against him, grinding his hips against hers just to show how much he "didn't want her." Sakura let a breathy sigh escape her as she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest. Shikamaru let his hands trail up her back so he could wrap them more fully around her.

"Go home and sleep baby. If you stay here then neither of us will get any rest tonight and we need to be fully awake tomorrow." He said tiredly against her ear as he placed a soft kiss to her cheek. Sakura turned towards him, and met his brown eyes with hers. "Are you still mad at me?"

Shikamaru just smirked and answered her by capturing her warm lips in a languid kiss that left her breathless. Then, he pulled away from her and without a word, slowly retreated back into the other room. There was a time and place for them to talk and he knew they would definitely get another opportunity to finish where they left off, but that time wasn't now, much to his dismay.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, before shutting the door to the room he had just disappeared through, leaving Sakura alone and completely aroused in the dark apartment. Sakura took a deep breath and bit her lip tightly, wondering if she should just go and break the door down…until the hurt look on Shikamaru's face earlier that night reappeared in her mind's eye. No, she had already screwed up once that night and now she would be a good girl and go home. Shaking her head, she picked up her scattered gear, wrapped it into a bundle under her arm and opened the door to the hall. Casting a longing glance back at the door across the room, she sighed heavily and walked out, shutting the door behind her..

Back inside the apartment, Shikamaru smirked softly as he finally heard the resounding click of the door as Sakura left. Frankly, he probably really wouldn't have kicked her out if she had decided to stay, but then he would hate himself in the morning when they were both dead tired and completely dysfunctional for the meeting with Tsunade. He had taken his shirt off and was sitting on his bed, his back against the wall, and another cigarette dangling from his lips as he stared out the open window across from him. The sky was just beginning to turn the palest shade of pink, signaling the approaching dawn. After a while he eventually got up and walked to the window, staring at the tops of Konohagakure just as the sun was starting over the horizon. He flicked his cigarette out the window, watching as it plummeted down the five flights and then smashed into nothing but ash as it hit the ground. He suddenly had a bad omen as his stomach tightened into knots. He pulled the drapes closed against the approaching light and laid back down, shoving a pillow across his head. His mind was whirling as he suddenly realized that there was only a few hours until the inevitable confrontation. Now he really wished he hadn't been part of the team to bring Naruto and Sasuke back. Everyone was going to have a fit. There was no doubt whatsoever in his brilliant mind.

"This is going to be a disaster."

* * *

I would most appreciate feedback for this chapter, especially the little bout of sugary citrus. Tis only a taste of what is to come.

- Serena


	5. The Flower Shop

Such a lovely thing, the world of stories. And I am so glad you've all decided to get lost in my particular wonderland.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. Only the wonderland where we are currently playing in.

* * *

**Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.**

Sakura woke up to something soft tickling her nose. Groaning, she swiped at her face and turned on her side, tugging the thick comforter over her head. Soft chuckles filled the room and she could feel the weight of the bed dip. Already dreading the worst, she cracked open an emerald eye and was greeted by the same lazy smirk that had haunted her dreams all night. Shikamaru smiled and snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Sakura sighed happily and snuggled closer into his embrace. "Morning baby, "he smiled, stroking her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmhm," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and gently pressed her face into the hollow of his throat. "I think I like waking up this way."

Shikamaru smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly, his lips brushing hers in the lightest of touches. Sakura hummed in content, clearly enjoying it. Her brain completely fuzzy, she just curled into him more. Shikamaru hadn't been this nice to her in a long while and she decided to take everything she could get. Though, of course it never occurred to her that he was only nice right before he did something mean…

"Why are you here so early?" she yawned. Shikamaru just smirked and shook his head.

"I didn't know 11:45 was considered early."

It took a few seconds before his words finally registered in her brain. Sakura bolted upright; ripping her self from his arms and making the covers go flying.

"It's already 11:45! Shika! What the hell?" she screeched, and all the fluffy feelings immediately evaporating. Shikamaru just shut his eyes and fell back against the pillows with a loud sigh, not even bothering to watch as Sakura practically tumbled off the bed and into the bathroom.

He couldn't help but smile to himself as he listened to her ranting even over the shower. Sighing, he just stared through her open window at the clouds passing by overhead. It was a pastime he hadn't enjoyed in ages. Memories swept through him as he let his mind wander. Kami, how long had it been since he just stopped to take a breath and look around? Too long probably…his eyes drifted closed as a memory of a certain pink-haired kunoichi filtered through his head.

* * *

_He and Sakura had been together for only a few weeks. They were still in the awkward phase and had just barely begun testing the waters of romance at the tender age of fifteen. Sakura had still been the shy and broody young girl and he had still been the indifferent rookie Chunin._

_It had been about a month since Sakura's accident which everyone was still recovering from and she was also ridiculously stressed after a killer training schedule with Tsunade. Shikamaru thought it would be nice to get her to relax, even for just an hour. So, he had dropped by the Hokage's office, asked to borrow his girlfriend for the afternoon and dragged Sakura off to the highest building in Konoha, his favorite spot for cloud watching._

_When she discovered where they were and had asked him what the hell were they doing, he just smiled up at her before tugging her down gently to lie next to him. She hesitated at first, but eventually gave in and stretched out next to him with a huff. Shikamaru smiled in triumph. After a while though, he could still feel her squirming beside him. From the tapping of her foot to the light drumming of her fingers across her stomach to the soft humming noise she made between her teeth, she just wouldn't settle down. Eyes still closed, he reached over with a hand and gently grabbed the one that was tapping an uneven beat against her belly, linking his fingers through hers, and successfully stopping the excess noise._

_Sakura huffed loudly. "What are you doing?"_

_"You need to relax." He murmured. Sakura yanked her hand away from his grip._

_"I am relaxed!" she hissed._

_Shikamaru cracked open an eye to glance at her then closed it again, smirking._

_"Of course you are. You're the most relaxed little-ball-of-stress I've ever seen." He joked. Sakura just sat up, resting on one arm as she glared down at him._

_"I'm not stressed either! I'm fine, for Kami's sake, what did you even bring me out here for anyway? We're accomplishing nothing but wasting time and energy!"_

_Shikamaru opened both eyes again and was greeted by her sea-green glare as it hovered over him. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Still, he decided to push his luck._

_"That's exactly the point Sakura. You need to be able to take a minute to breathe. If you can spare a little time to do nothing, than it'll refocus your energy and life will go a lot smoother." He explained patiently. Sakura was quiet for a minute before she ran a hand through her hair. It was easy to see how peeved she was. She sat up completely now, turning her body so that it was angled away from him. Her back was stick-straight and yet it was almost as if she were curling in on herself. Frowning, Shikamaru pushed himself up and scooted up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder._

_"What's up?" he asked quietly._

_Sakura was quiet, not even turning her head to look at him, before mumbling that it was nothing. Shikamaru glanced down and saw how she was restlessly fidgeting with the thick gauze that was wrapped around her left arm from wrist to elbow. Which he also happened to know that matched the gauze wrapped around her entire torso, hidden by her clothes. The more she absently poked and prodded at it, the more little red-spots would appear. He quickly reached around her and grabbed her wrists. "Stop it Sakura." He said forcefully, keeping her arms apart._

_The motion startled her and she immediately froze in his grip, staring at the hand that was wrapped tightly around her bandaged arm. "Let go of me," she said, her voice strained. Shikamaru shook his head, releasing one of her arms so he could wrap it around her waist and pulled her back against him. She sat in between his legs, back resting against his chest, his arms still wrapped tightly around her._

_"Can't do that kid, you're a liability to yourself." he stated bluntly. Though he kept his tone light, there was still a heavy tension in his arms that kept hers locked to her sides. Sakura remained silent for a long time, before her body finally crumpled to a heap in his arms and she began sobbing quietly. Shikamaru sighed and loosened his grip a little so she could turn in his arms. She curled into him, pressing as close as she could and buried her face into his neck. He just held her, not saying a word, and let her cry. He wasn't surprised at her current mood. In fact, he had actually been expecting it. The entire village had been expecting it._

_He held her close and stroked her hair, mumbling sweet nothings that he didn't even realize he was saying just to try and soothe her. Thinking back to the past six weeks, he remembered how he hadn't seen Sakura cry once since Tsunade-sama had told them about Naruto. Even two weeks later, when Kakashi-sensei took off on a mission without a word and her accident happened, she hadn't shed a tear._

_When he had asked Tsunade about it, she just shrugged and shook her head. "My bet is that she's just holding everything in. It's not the best thing for her, but what can we do? She's trying to cope."_

_"Yeah, but sooner or later it might become too much…" he replied, glancing over at the limp form on the hospital bed. Tsunade nodded and turned to the door. "Just make sure you're there when it does become too much." She said quietly, sliding the door shut…_

_Shikamaru sighed and hugged her closer. 'I'm here.' he thought, 'and I always will be.'_

_Sakura's sobs had quieted and she was now almost completely limp as she leaned against him. His arms remained loosely around her waist, holding but not restraining. They were silent for a long time before she spoke. Her voice was raw from crying. "I just don't get why they didn't even ask me to go with them…Naruto…or even Kakashi-sensei." She whispered, pain laced in her tone. He remained silent, not really knowing how to respond to the question that they both already knew the answer to._

_He made a vow at that moment. If he ever laid eyes on any of those three idiots again…their lives were forfeit. He would be sure to make everyday a living hell._

_Her laughter suddenly cut through the tense silence. Even though it was dry and humorless, it still managed to break the edge off of the tension. She pressed her face into his chest and breathed deeply, taking comfort in his scent. He smelled like the forest after it rained, clean and crisp, yet there was also something there that was completely different and unique only to him. It was soft and relaxing, something she couldn't pinpoint, but always made her think of clouds and sunshine. She smiled softly at the thought and sat up straighter, bringing herself eye-level to him._

_He watched her, and was almost awed by what he saw. In that moment, she looked so vulnerable and fragile, it was like the very wind could crush her. Her face was pale, yet her green eyes were wide and bright from her tears, and there was a slight tint to her cheeks. Add her bad habit of chewing on her lower lip and she looked like a little doll. It was very unnerving._

_"I'm sorry Shika, you brought me out here to relax and I completely ruined it." She said, her eyes downcast. Shikamaru smiled and tilted her face up to meet his before brushing his lips against hers. She leaned into it, moving her lips softly against his and pulled away, her face coloring slightly. He laughed, shaking his head._

_"Don't worry about it. I think you probably needed this more than me. Now what do you say we go back to doing absolutely nothing."_

_"I don't think I know how to do nothing." She admitted hesitantly._

_"Lucky for you, I can do exactly that." He grinned and pulled her down again, this time guiding her to lie more fully against him. Her head rested on his shoulder, tucked below his chin and her body seemed to melt into his side perfectly. He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close, while the other gently linked fingers with her hand that rested against his stomach. He felt her sigh in content against him and smiled. A few minutes later, Sakura was completely relaxed and fast asleep on his chest._

_Mission accomplished._

* * *

Shikamaru opened his eyes when he heard a loud curse and looked in the direction of the noise, coming from Sakura's closet. "Problem?" he asked, uninterestedly as he yawned.

"Wouldn't be, if someone had woken me up sooner!"

He rolled his eyes. The warm, fuzzy memory he had just dreamed already fading from his mind then minute her aggravated tones appeared. Really, there was something seriously wrong with women and waking up. They never went well together…even Kiba said so, and his girlfriend was probably the sweetest person in the universe.

There was another loud curse followed by a crash as Sakura stumbled her way out of the closet, finally dressed in a pair of black, form-fitting shorts that stopped just above her knees and an oversized, regulation Jonin turtleneck that looked oddly familiar. So that's where my clothes disappear to…she had decided to ditch the green vest that was usually required with the uniform today. Her bright, waist-length hair fell down her back like threads of cotton candy before she managed to pull the bulk of it into a decent ponytail. She grabbed her weapons pouch from the floor and strapped it to her thigh before shoving her feet into her sandals.

By this time, Shikamaru was finally pulling himself off of the bed.

"Next time, I'm going to let Tsunade wake you up herself." He yawned, shaking his head as he followed her out of her apartment. Sakura just glared at him and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the stairs. She caught a glimpse of the time in the shop across the street and cursed loudly.

"Damn it, it's already 12:14! We are so dead!" she shrieked, and took off down the street towards the Hokage's building, Shikamaru trailing her by a step.

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk, her head resting on her palm as her fingers tapped impatiently against the wood. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the clock and the door.

Sakura and Shikamaru were twenty minutes late.

Kiba slouched in one of the chairs, his eyes staring blankly at a spot on the floor. Genma was leaning against the open window to the right of her desk, staring out at the crowded streets, looking for a sign of their captain. His senbon clicked in rhythm to Tsunade's offbeat. Already Kiba could see the slight tick working in her jaw and the vein that was threatening to pop on her temple. He involuntarily flinched as her hard eyes darted to him and attempted a smile.

"I'm sure they'll be here any-"

"They're already twenty minutes late!" she yelled, slamming her fist against the desk. Kiba just sighed and glanced at Genma, who was trying to stifle a laugh from behind Tsunade. They were all going to be in hell when Sakura and Shikamaru finally showed up.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, the door burst open with a loud bang, making everyone jump. Shikamaru and Sakura were framed in the doorway, bent over and breathing in short gasps. Well, Kiba thought 'that was one way to make an entrance.'

"I'm so sorry we're late Tsunade-sama! You see, I woke up late and –"

"Sit."

Sakura immediately shut up and slunk into the room, slowly lowering herself onto the seat next to Kiba, who looked like he was trying not to laugh at her. "Morning Captain." He grinned, giving her a mock salute. Sakura gave him a look that was enough to make the words he was about to say catch viciously in his throat. Shikamaru shut the door behind him and went to lean against the window-sill next to Genma. They all waited in silence for Tsunade to speak.

"So, she began through clenched teeth, "Tell me what happened last night. Were there any problems?" she asked.

Everyone suddenly looked to Sakura. As their captain, it was hers alone to give the report. Sakura sat up straighter and stared straight ahead at her mentor. Events from the night before flashed in her mind's eye and she steadily shook her head. "No, there were no problems at all. They agreed to come quietly and accepted all circumstances of returning." She said smoothly. Tsunade stared quietly into space for a moment, contemplating something before nodding her head.

"Good. Then that's that. Here's the information on what will be happening now that they've returned." Tsunade said, taking out a file from her drawer.

"I put them both on probation for the rest of the year. In the first month, they are nothing but civilians. If you even see them with a weapon, then you must report it." She explained as Sakura took the file and read along. "Then and only then will they be allowed to train again, under supervision of course, before they are reinstated as Genin."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "And what kind of supervision would this be?" she asked. Tsunade held her gaze steadily.

"They are only allowed to begin training under the strict watch of an ANBU operative, of course."

Meaning you and your team, Sakura, my dear.

She smiled stiffly at the underlying meaning and almost shredded the papers in her grasp if Kiba hadn't pried them from her.

"Of course." she nodded, her voice strained.

Tsunade went on to explain what was happening and the group settled in for a long meeting. But, as the rest of her team listened with rapt attention to new intelligence and upcoming missions, all Sakura could do was keep thinking about the vicious knot that had twisted itself into a permanent place in her belly. Suddenly, she dreaded stepping out of the Hokage's office in fear of those who now roamed the streets of Konoha.

* * *

Around the same time that the First ANBU Captain and her squad were giving reports and intelligence to the Godaime, another commotion was starting up in the village. Already people were talking and just about the whole of Hidden Leaf was caught in the whirlwind.

Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha and Hatake Kakashi were back.

As the three slowly made their way through town, they met with many familiar people, most who greeted them with intense reactions. First they had seen Chouji and Asuma, who were actually happily surprised to see them. Rock Lee and Gai came bounding down a side street, knocking Naruto and Kakashi over in their excitement and Konohamaru and his genin team made quite a scene screaming at Naruto in the street for ditching them. All seemed well enough, until the three happened upon the Yamanaka flower turned down a side street and grinned at the familiar surroundings.

"I know exactly where we are!" he chirped, walking towards a shop in the center of the block with a yellow awning hanging above the door. Bright displays of flowers crowded the windows in an array of colors. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi all walked through the door to be greeted by a loud, bright voice that came from none other than the bubbling blonde herself, Ino Yamanaka. Her head was bent over a piece she was working on and she put a hand up, telling them to hold on.

"Sorry! I'll be right with you, just wait a minute." She said as she adjusted a long branch into the huge display she was making. Naruto grinned and stepped foreword.

"Ino, it's so good to see you again!"

At the sound of the loud, scratchy voice, Ino's hand froze over what she was doing. Slowly, her eyes glanced up and were greeted by the familiar spiky, sunshine hair and the bright blue eyes. Looking past him she saw the tell tale black spikes and the infamous one eyed blank stare…

Ino stood up straight and slowly smoothed her apron down. She stared at the three men for a very long time, not saying anything, until finally, without a word she turned and walked into the back room, slamming the door behind her.

Naruto stood frowning as the door slammed shut. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by a firm grip on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Kakashi shake his head and nodded to the door.

"Leave it Naruto. We can't think that everyone would be happy to see us." He said. Naruto just huffed and pulled away, shaking his head.

"Let's just get out of here before someone else comes in." Sasuke muttered, already heading out the door after Kakashi. Naruto sighed and was the last one out, the glass door clinking shut behind him. However, outside he almost rammed into Sasuke's back. Muttering curses and preparing to shove the idiot standing in his way, he was suddenly stopped short when he saw a familiar face standing in front of Kakashi and Sasuke. He grinned and pushed past the two men, up to the hooded figure regarding them through dark, round sunglasses.

"Shino, what are you doing here?" he asked, grinning, and held out his hand to the taller man. Shino glanced at him for a long second before gingerly returning Naruto's handshake. He nodded to Kakashi and Sasuke and glanced through the glass doors into the shop beyond, noting that it was empty.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said quietly, dropping the blonde's hand.

Naruto just rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head. "Well, we came to say hello to Ino, but she sort of just freaked and left without saying anything. I guess she was just surprised to see-"

"Excuse me then." Shino muttered, cutting him off as he moved past the bubbling blonde and his companions without another word. Naruto called after him but either Shino didn't hear him or was ignoring him. The glass door slid shut behind him and Naruto stood there, mouth still open in wonder.

"What is everyone's problem today!" Naruto yelled, suddenly glaring at the glass door.

He was definitely one of those people who hated being brushed off and it had happened to him twice already. Kakashi and Sasuke just sighed and dragged Naruto away from the shop. Though, as they passed the window, Sasuke did cast a curious glance in to see Shino knocking lightly on the door leading to the back room. Now that was an interesting development. He thought as he turned, pulling Naruto to the side to keep from crashing into a passerby.

Inside the shop, Shino leaned lightly against the wall next to the back door behind the counter and knocked softly. He could hear a quiet sob from within the room and tensed. Again he knocked and again there was no response. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Immediately he could see Ino leaning over a table in the corner, breathing heavily.

Slowly, she turned to glance at him. Angry tear tracks stained her pale face and her sky blue eyes were a deep shade of sapphire. She turned away from him and went to fuss with a vase full of random flowers in the corner. She picked up a kunai from the table and quickly began sheering off the heads of whatever flowers she came across. He stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Ino" He started stepping towards her.

She stiffened, and it was then Shino noticed how hard she was gripping the kunai in her fist. A dark red stream was beginning to trail slowly down her arm and drip to the floor. He quickly stepped up behind her and grabbed her arm, coaxing her to let go of the blade.

"Ino, you're bleeding." He muttered absently, finally managing to pry the kunai away from her death grip and dropped it onto the floor in a hollow clatter. She let out another sob and hissed in pain, then suddenly turned into his embrace.

"Shhh…calm down…" he muttered into her hair, sliding his free arm around her waist. Ino was trembling in his arms and fisted her bloody hand into his jacket, creating a small red hand-print. Not that he cared.

"Do you know how much it's taking me…not to go out there and slit their throats myself!" she hissed, more angry tears pouring down her pretty face as she pressed closer against his chest. Shino didn't say anything but instead pulled her towards the stuffed chair in the corner. He took a roll of gauze bandages from his weapons pouch and sat down in the chair, settling Ino on his lap.

She was still ranting obscure curses and wiping her eyes while Shino just took her other hand and began wrapping it in gauze. Finishing it off with a knot, he waited out the rest of her storm patiently. Eventually her rants slowly subsided into soft sobs. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, sighing heavily.

"Better?" he asked quietly. Ino shifted, and he felt the slight nod of her head. He raised his arm and softly ran it down the length of Ino's long, blonde hair.

"Do you want to tell me what all that was about anyways?" he tried. Ino was quiet for a minute. "Naruto and Sasuke are back."

"So I've seen. But why were you so angry? Not falling for Sasuke again are you?" he said, teasing. Though, when she sat up to glare down at him, she could hear the slight uncertainty hidden there, in his voice. She roughly smacked his shoulder, and crossed her arms.

"It's not that! I'm mad because those two idiots have no right to be here at all, yet here they are, traipsing around the damn village like they own the place!" she screamed, her cheeks flaring red at her anger. Shino just stared at her quietly, letting her rage settle before he asked,

"It's about Sakura, isn't it? You're worried about what's going to happen." He whispered. Ino stiffened, and her bright, summer eyes which were normally so emotional suddenly went blank. When she spoke it was through tightly clenched teeth.

"They weren't supposed to come back." She muttered. Her eyes beginning to water again as she stared blankly at his chest, however he knew what scene was flashing behind that faraway look…

He gently grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him and pulled her close, whispering into her hair softly as she began to cry. They weren't the loud, angry sobs that Ino was infamous for when she normally got upset. These tears went deeper, much deeper then surface pain, and were all the more desperate because of their silence. She buried herself into his embrace, and shook silently while Shino just held her.

"They don't deserve her…" she cried, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him close. "They're going to ruin everything."

Shino shushed her.

"I know." He sighed heavily. Like before, eventually her tears ceased and she leaned against him tiredly, attempting to tuck her head beneath his chin, and then huffed in frustration when she found she couldn't.

She sat up; adjusting her legs so she was straddling him and immediately her hands flew to the zipper of his jacket. "I hate this…take it off." She muttered, glaring down at him.

Her fingers were already working to tug the zipper down. With her other hand she pulled the thick hood back and away from his face, revealing his neat, spiky brown hair. Throughout the entire process, Shino didn't move to protest and even helped her shrug the thick coat off when she slid it off his shoulders and down his arms. It wasn't until she had tossed his jacket onto the table and reached for his sunglasses did he grab her wrist. Ino just stared at him with pleading eyes.

"Shino please, I need this. I need to see you." She whispered.

He stared up at her for a long minute. It wasn't often that the young Aburame took off his glasses, and Ino was the only one not in the clan to ever see his eyes, but still. It was also rare that he indulged her. However, looking up into her summer blue eyes at that moment…he sighed in defeat.

"Alright, but just this once." He said, repeating the same thing he always said whenever he allowed her to see his eyes, and reluctantly let go of her wrist. A triumphant smile graced her lips and she slowly pulled the glasses off to reveal those that were, in her opinion, possibly the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen.

Much to popular belief, Shino's eyes weren't actually dark like everyone thought they were. They were a light, golden brown that swirled with a light green, making them a very vibrant shade of hazel. Shino looked up at her silently, suddenly feeling very out of place without his glasses, but he didn't pull away or try to grab them back. Just sat still and watched her.

Ino gently folded the glasses and leaned over to place them on the table with his jacket, away from harm. Then, slowly, her hands began to trace the sides of his face and slid up to his chocolate brown locks, running her hands through them. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer and his eyes grew heavy at her soothing ministrations until he had to look at her through half-lidded eyes. Ino smiled wider as she saw his bright eyes droop and then, without warning, she leaned down to gently brush her lips against his.

Shino sighed into that kiss, perfectly content and slid an arm up her back to tangle in her long, blonde locks, keeping her head there; keeping her lips pressed against his. Ino lazily trailed her tongue across his bottom lip, coaxing him to open up to her. One of her hands tugged sharply at his hair, causing him to gasp and she quickly took the opportunity to slip her tongue into his warm mouth, exploring a place she already knew by heart.

He moaned softly as he battled with her for dominance and eventually let her take control. If anything, she probably needed this much more than he did.

Her hands smoothed across his shoulders and cut a trail down his chest, creating the most maddening sensation as her fingers skimmed over the tight, mesh shirt he wore beneath his jacket. Already she could feel him against her and pressed closer to him, grinding her hips against his in a teasing rhythm. Shino gasped, breaking their heated kiss when she pressed harder against him and immediately his hands moved to her hips, holding her there tightly. Slowly, he arched up while pressing down on her hips and she moaned loudly, gasping at the jolt that shot through her body.

They stared at each other through half-lidded eyes and breathed through short gasps of air. Shino shook his head, which was suddenly going fuzzy from his heightened senses. The tiny beetles were practically buzzing under his skin from the contact with Ino.

"If we don't stop now then we're sure as hell not going to be able to later…" he panted, his eyes glazed over and bright. Ino just stared down at him admiring this new image of her boyfriend, star-stuck and out-of-breath, before a mischievous smirk appeared on her blush stained face.

"Who said anything about stopping?" she grinned, and without giving him a chance to think about it, immediately crushed her lips back to his.

* * *

Not the couple you were expecting? You're welcome to rant about it in that magic text box called "Review". Love you all.

- Serena


	6. Three Fools

Your reviews are lovely and much appreciated. Thank you.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. This plot is.

* * *

**Time does not stop, not for me, or you. Don't be foolish enough to believe it does.**

Naruto and Sasuke walked down one of the main streets of Konoha, Kakashi trailing them at a slower pace, his nose buried in the latest edition of Icha Icha. Thankfully it was already the afternoon and most people were either out on the training fields or indoors working, so they managed to get by without much trouble. A few people stared at them in astonishment and even slight fear as they passed, but no one approached them openly.

After a few minutes, Sasuke paused, looking up at the buildings around them and read the numbers on the few apartments that lined the block. Counting silently, he paused again, nodding his head and stared at the address he had penned on the inside of his arm. He was about to turn around and back track until he spotted a narrower street just past where Kakashi was standing, that branched off from the main road. He nodded to Naruto and Kakashi to follow him.

"It's this way. I'm pretty sure." He said, already turning down the street that was lined with apartment complexes that housed most of the Jonin in the city. Naruto fell into step and grinned, nudging Sasuke in the arm as he helped him look for the right building. Complex 24, 9th floor, apartment number 907. The Hokage told them that was where they would find her.

"What do you think she'll do when she sees us?" Naruto asked with a wide smile. More than anything, he couldn't wait to see Sakura. She would probably be ridiculously happy that they were back…he was positive she would be the one to welcome them home warmly.

Sasuke shrugged, still glancing up at the building numbers as they passed. "I don't know, she'll probably be all weepy and just be glad to have us back." He muttered absently. Naruto laughed loudly,

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Ha! Good old Sakura-chan! Probably the one thing in the village that hasn't changed." He grinned. Sasuke smirked, silently agreeing with him. If anything was true, it was definitely that. Sakura was always the weak link of cell 7. Albeit, she may have been the brightest, but she was never one to stand tall against pressure. And that is why both young men believed with firm thoughts that their precious cherry blossom would be waiting for them with open arms.

Sasuke stopped and looked up at the building before him, Naruto and Kakashi followed suit. "Well, we're here." He said, taking a deep breath. Naruto nodded.

"Guess we should go up and see her…"

Neither of them moved. Kakashi glanced up from his book, a silver eyebrow raised in mute curiosity and amusement. He put his book away and draped an arm over each boys shoulder, grinning from behind his mask.

"Come on guys; don't tell me you're suddenly scared to see Sakura. You both know she's probably the only one here who's actually waiting for us." He said, steering them towards the entrance. The two didn't say anything. Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering something about boys and girls. Slowly, they began the long climb up the stairs, and it seemed with every passing floor, the tension grew more and more. Sasuke and Naruto were silent through the whole ordeal, suddenly loosing their eagerness from a few minutes before, when they were excited to see Sakura again. Kakashi hummed an offbeat tune, a serene and indifferent smile on his masked lips. By the time they reached the ninth-floor landing, the air was practically tangible and silence reigned. The boys now looked as if they were going to their deaths, instead of visiting one of their best friends.

Kakashi sighed again, shaking his head at their hopelessness and walked past them, leading the way down the long halls, looking for apartment 907. He stopped abruptly when he found it and heard the deep breaths of Naruto and Sasuke behind him. He raised his arm, poised to knock, and paused, glancing back at them. The same look was coursing through all of their eyes and he could read it easily enough on their faces.

What would Sakura really do when she answered to find her team, who knowingly abandoned her, knocking on her front door?

Kakashi turned back and knocked loudly, his fist rapping the wood in three sharp taps. They all held their breaths, staring at the door, both anxiously awaiting and dreading the moment the door would open…

What seemed like forever yet was only one minute passed. Then another. They all let the air wheeze back into their lungs. Kakashi knocked again, louder this time and waited. A frown had appeared on Naruto's face, his arms crossed stiffly across his chest. Why the hell wasn't she answering the door? He thought, leaning against the wall across from the door. Another endless minute passed, and there was still no answer. Sasuke's face had gone blank and Kakashi had stepped away from the door, frowning. He shook his head and nodded to them.

"Sorry guys, but it looks like she's either not home or knows who we are and is ignoring us." Naruto just scoffed.

"Sakura would not be ignoring us if she knew we were here!" he spat, rolling his eyes. Sasuke just shook his head and turned away, already walking slowly towards the stairs again. "Whatever. We tried."

Kakashi slowly shuffled after him. Naruto was still leaning against the wall, arms crossed and glaring at the door, willing it to open. He shook his head roughly in frustration. The one person they had wanted to see and she wasn't even there! Sakura would not ignore them like that. Even if she were angry, the whole town would have known it by now. Even if she was the weakest…she was never one for silence. He turned, finally beginning to follow his team mates down the hall when a small thought flitted across his mind.

Stopping, he turned back towards the door and paused, glancing around. Making up his mind just to try it, he took the two steps back to the door and reached out, grabbing the handle and giving it a deft twist. He expected it to not budge at all in his empty attempt. What he didn't expect was for it to give way smoothly and hear the clean click of the latch opening. When he let go of the handle the door swung open quietly. He stood, staring in disbelief before grinning triumphantly. He smirked and turned his head, calling to his friends.

"Hey guys, it's open." He yelled, his voice bouncing off the wide walls. By this time Sasuke and Kakashi were already halfway down the hall and they turned, ready to drag Naruto away by force. Instead they were greeted by the blonde, grinning like an idiot, the door wide open behind him. Sasuke gaped and stepped up to his best friend, smacking him roughly on the arm.

"What the hell did you do?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

Naruto just smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and shrugged. "I just wanted to check…you know…" he started. Kakashi shook his head and stepped between the two, making his way into the apartment.

"You do know this can count as breaking and entering? But…ah, nevermind. Let's just check it out really quick and get out, okay?" he said, his voice oddly chipper as he motioned for Sasuke and Naruto to follow him. Naruto grinned, quick to follow Kakashi and laughed.

"Ah! Come on Kakashi-sensei, technically it was already open." He chirped, staring with wide-eyed interest at the apartment they stood in. Sasuke sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face, shutting the door behind him.

"Technically, Sakura is going to kick our asses if she ever finds out we were here without her." He said, mimicking Naruto. The blonde just glared and stuck his tongue out at him. Kakashi was silent before them, arms crossed as he looked around.

They stood there, taking in the place where their teammate had lived her life without them.

It was a beautiful apartment, with wide walls that were painted a deep grey-blue color that reminded them of the ocean, and dark, wood floors that were polished to a shine. Almost all of the wall space was covered with beautiful and vibrant paintings, some framed and others that simply hung there. The majority of the art was done in black ink, but there were a few scattered pieces that showed vibrant pops of color, mostly pink or red, and were placed meticulously around the room to catch the looker's attention. On closer inspection, Kakashi noticed that they all bore the signature of someone named Sai. Across from the front door, on what should have been the opposite wall was instead a monstrous window that had a breathtaking view of Konoha. Naruto gaped and walked to it, pressing his face up to the glass.

The whole of Konoha was sprawled before him in the afternoon sun. "This is insane." He muttered, stepping away from the window, smiling. Sasuke scanned the rest of the room, trying to memorize it.

Everything was simple and tastefully decorated. A low, mahogany table was in the center of the room, surrounded by three, lush couches in a deep midnight blue. The dark floor beneath the couches and table were draped with thick, grey rugs. To the right there was a tall arch that led to a small, cozy looking kitchen and to the left was a wide door, left slightly ajar. He glanced at the kitchen as they passed, not catching anything of interest and made straight for the only other door. Standing on the threshold he pushed it open to reveal a large bedroom.

Unlike the rest of the house, which was remarkably pristine, the bedroom actually showed signs of life. There was a huge bed with white sheets and a thick, blood-red comforter, embroidered with gold designs that was half on the floor. A few pillows were on the floor too and there were random oddities scattered around the room. On the desk there was a pile of scrolls stacked haphazardly close to the edge and papers littered the top. The entire wall across from the bed where the desk lay was also completely covered with floor-to-ceiling book shelves. Every shelf was covered too, with everything ranging from medical texts to ancient tomes that were hardly legible. Kunai, senbon and random medical tools were lying everywhere in disarray and several pieces of clothing littered the floor. Two other doors stood open and looking in, they found a spacious bathroom and a rather large walk-in-closet.

But soon, as they kept looking, they slowly began loosing interest. It felt like they were intruding because they had found nothing personal of the pink-haired kunoichi and it felt like they were in a stranger's home. Oh, they knew it was Sakura's house, because it was the Godaime herself who told them where to go, but it was suddenly getting hard to tell because there was nothing to differentiate this place from anyone else's. There were clothes and gear and probably everything else a house should have…but there was nothing personal about it. The clothes and gear could have belonged to any girl in Konoha.

So far, they had found nothing that confirmed it belonged to Sakura. No journals, no notes in her handwriting…hell, besides the paintings done by the person named Sai, there weren't even any pictures in this place! Not one that they had seen so far. Suddenly they felt deflated and weary and regretted the decision to explore her domain. Kakashi was the first to leave the room, already heading towards the front door.

However, as soon as he stepped back into the main room, he froze. Apparently, they had completely missed something when they had walked in, because next to the short hall leading to the front door was a long table and a wide expanse of wall…completely covered in photographs. He stepped up to them, eye wide and eyebrows raised in surprise. There had to be at least around forty frames there. Most scattered on the wall, all framed in different sizes and colors, then the bunch that littered the top of the table, all framed in black. He stared at them, the many faces of Konoha looking back at him.

Naruto and Sasuke gaped as they stood next to him; staring at the things and people they had known and missed dearly. So many pictures…cataloguing all the things they had missed in four years… displaying all the people who had moved on without them. They stood there for what seemed like a lifetime, staring at the endless faces and thinking of the life Konoha had led when they weren't there. Out of all the frames, only some stood out, catching their attention. Most having to do with their old friends. The Konoha Twelve, consisting of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai.

Naruto laughed loudly, pointing to one picture on the wall that showed a candid photo of Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Lee and Chouji after a training session. They were all cut up, bruised and bloody, but smiling.

"They look exactly the same." He laughed. Sasuke leaned closer to the wall, staring at a picture a few below the first and nodded to it. "Look at this one." He smirked. Naruto and Kakashi looked at it and blanched.

"No way!"

It was a picture of Gaara, dressed in Kazekage robes, with a tomato-red face and an extremely annoyed expression. Temari and Sakura were on either side of him, kissing his blushing cheeks as he crossed his arms, scowling. Naruto laughed hard, almost on the verge of hysterics. "That's hilarious!"

Sasuke couldn't help but smile too, especially when he saw the frame right next to it. Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Tenten were all dressed to kill in gorgeous kimonos, arms linked around one another and laughing at the camera. Their teammates hovered in the background, looking very annoyed.

While the boys began scanning the wall for more interesting pictures, Kakashi focused his attention on the black framed pictures lining the long table. One in particular caught his eye immediately. He picked it up, holding it loosely in his hands and studied it. He was so lost in his own world that he didn't even notice Naruto and Sasuke trying to get his attention until they were hovering over his shoulder.

"What is that…?" Naruto trailed off, staring at the picture with wide eyes. Kakashi just smiled sadly.

"I think it's her team." He said soberly, no longer feeling the lightness of the other photos. Sakura stood in the middle, surrounded by three guys they immediately recognized as Genma, Kiba and Shikamaru. They were all laughing, faces bright and smiles wide, even though they were all very bruised and bloody. Sakura's, then short, bubblegum colored locks were caked with dirt and her lip was split, already a nasty bruise was forming on her left cheek. Shikamaru and Kiba, who both had an arm wrapped around her, didn't look much better. Kiba's right eye was swollen shut and one side of his face was smeared with blood. Shikamaru's hair, which was usually pulled up into an orderly ponytail, hung limp around his face, which had a gash running from his temple to the corner of his mouth. Genma, who had his arms wrapped around Sakura's middle from behind her, his head perched on her shoulder, was the only one who looked relatively descent.

And even though they looked like they had just walked from hell and back, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke understood why they were all laughing. It was because over their massacred clothes, all three of them; Kiba, Shikamaru and Sakura, were proudly sporting the dark green vests that ranked them as Jonin.

Kakashi sighed, ignoring the hollowness he felt in the pit of his stomach as he noted how comfortable they all looked together. How well they all seemed to fit…as if they were supposed to be that way.

Naruto's jaw clenched, and he stepped away from Kakashi and the offending photograph. There was a deep hurt in his chest, and it frustrated him. This wasn't supposed to happen. Something was very, very wrong. Sakura wasn't supposed to be part of another team. She was theirs. He couldn't even begin to think of her with another team. It hurt too much. But, what made his chest contract the most, was seeing the light in her eyes as she stood with them. She looked so damn happy in the midst of them. Like she belonged there. Naruto shook his head and huffed, running a hand through his hair restlessly as he paced around the room.

"That's stupid Kakashi-sensei. That is not Sakura's team. It's just a stupid picture. She belongs to us." He muttered darkly, his voice hard.

Kakashi just shook his head and put the picture down again, fixing it so it looked exactly like it did when he first picked it up. He inwardly winced at the possessive tone of Naruto's voice. If Sakura were to hear that there would be no doubt that Naruto would be dead and buried.

"Naruto, she's not an object, so she doesn't belong to us." he sighed, suddenly feeling extremely tired. Naruto turned on him, hissing and spitting in his annoyed state.

"I know that! It's just…why did she…ugh!- " he rambled, exasperated and unable to piece his thoughts together.

"He means that she belongs with us." Sasuke said bluntly, saying what Naruto couldn't. Naruto just glared and rolled his eyes and stalked off. Sasuke shrugged, remaining silent, yet his thoughts were in a whirlwind. That picture was burned into his mind too, just like Naruto and Kakashi. He was just as upset about seeing her like that just as much as the others, but there was only one thought repeating itself in his mind that he could focus on.

_Little cherry blossom, just how far have you left us behind?_

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And so it goes. Naughty boys for breaking and entering. Tell me how you liked or disliked in a review. *smiles*

- Serena


	7. Mixed Reactions

Hello my beautiful readers. First, I must say thank you, to every single one of you who has read and/or reviewed this story. 193 reviews and only seven chapters long? I cannot tell you how humbled I am by that, knowing that so many have seen this. I know there are many others who have not reviewed, and I ask you silent readers now, anything you have to say would be most welcome, even if it's only one word. Thank you.

Now, as for the second thing, this is NOT a new chapter. I have simply been editing and fixing any errors of the previous chapters, including the super lengthy Chapter five, which has not been broken into two chapters. Thus, this "new" chapter, which is only the previous chapter, pushed up. So, I apologize for the false impressions. However! The next chapter (the real new one) is currently being edited and shall be posted sometime tonight or tomorrow, so keep your eyes open.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine, just this plot.

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**Not two haves of a whole, but the same side of the coin.**

Sakura yawned loudly, her arms stretching high above her head as she stood up from her chair in Tsunade's office and began pacing around the room. Tsunade and Shikamaru were deeply engulfed in a conversation about one of his recent solo missions, and Sakura couldn't help but tune them out the minute they had started. She walked over to Genma and leaned against the windowsill beside him. They stared out over the bustling village for a few long minutes before Genma finally caved.

"So…" he started slowly, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. Sakura raised an eyebrow and turned to face him fully.

"What's up?" she asked, smiling. Genma smiled back, though there was a steady throb developing in the back of his head. She may have been all smiles and sunshine now, but he knew it wouldn't last forever.

"What are you going to do?" he asked bluntly, turning to look at her. His voice was tense and too stable for his usual air. Sakura didn't like it at all. She shrugged and crossed her arms, leaning against the sill tiredly. Watching all of the people go about their day down in the village was a comforting sight, but then she couldn't help but wonder about what three certain men were up to.

"There's nothing much I can do, right? You're making it seem like I have an infinite amount of choices." She said, eventually. Her leaf-green eyes were darkening rapidly as she looked at him. It was Genma's turn to shrug.

"Not an infinite amount…but there are things you can do. You can go talk to them or you can walk away. That's about it."

Sakura laughed humorlessly. "Well aren't those just the crème-of-the-crop. You make it sound so simple."

"No Kura, I'm telling it exactly how it sounds. There's no in between. It's one or the other." He replied, raising a brow at her. Sakura frowned.

"Did you just twist my words back in my face?"

"Did it work?" he grinned.

Sakura was just about to smack him when there was a sharp knock on the door. They all turned as Tsunade told the caller to enter. The door slowly opened to reveal the familiar faces of the Hyuuga Heirs. Neji stood, arms crossed and pale eyes gleaming murder, while his beautiful cousin stood beside him, a tentative smile forming on her lips and a surprisingly calm expression on her face.

"Hinata!" Kiba chirped, grinning, as he walked up to his girlfriend and pulled her into a warm embrace. Hinata's small smile widened, a deep blush settling in her pale skin as she tipped her head back to meet his kiss. Sakura smiled at them and turned back just in time to see Neji storming over to Tsunade's desk. She sighed as she went to perch on the edge of the desk between the two, noting the look in his eye. It was one she didn't like dealing with at all. The look lacked all of his famous calmness and screamed furious ANBU captain.

Neji slammed his palms against the desk and glared down at the blonde woman. "Guess who I've just seen prancing around the damn village."

"Let me guess, Jiraiya and Ebisu are the only ones who 'prance' so-"she started, clearly digging into his upset mood and enjoying it by the biting smile forming on her ruby lips. Neji straightened to his full height, crossing his arms and practically growled.

"Why the hell are two missing-nins walking around the village?"

Tsunade looked up at the young man, and sighed heavily. Her amber eyes were hard.

"They were allowed back last night. You don't need to concern yourself Neji; they are being properly punished for their actions."

"Properly punished? Tsunade-sama, they should be dead!"

Tsunade huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly with her thumb and forefinger. This was the last thing the woman needed right now.

Sakura could already see the vein beginning to throb at her temple and grimaced. At the rate things were going, if Neji didn't shut up soon then this could end very, very badly.

"Like I said before – you needn't concern yourself with their affairs."

Neji's lavender eyes narrowed dangerously at her words. Just as he was opening his mouth to retaliate, Sakura quickly pushed herself between Neji and the desk, successfully cutting off his view of the Hokage and vice-versa. Thankfully the angry words he was just about to yell caught for a minute when his eyes met Sakura's green orbs unexpectedly. She smiled brightly up at him and lightly grabbed his arms, quickly maneuvering him away from the desk.

"Well, I think it's been a long day for everyone. How about a bite to eat?" she said loudly, an overly wide grin still plastered onto her face. Her eyes scanned the room, attempting to silently communicate to the others that if they didn't get out of there then there would be a lot of hell to pay.

Thankfully, Shikamaru caught on and began to usher them all out, casually throwing an arm around Neji's shoulders when Sakura turned him around to push at his back. She tugged on Genma's hand as she passed, still speaking loud enough to distract Neji from finishing his rant.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. I heard everyone's off duty for once so let's all have dinner at my place…I think that sounds fun, don't you Hina-chan?" she chirped from over Neji's shoulder as they followed the couple through the door.

"That does sound like a good-idea. We'll call Ino and Shino too, and Tenten, Lee and Chouji." She called back, smiling softly as she slipped from under Kiba's arm to take Neji's hand and pull him out the door. Sakura glanced back at Tsunade before she stepped out of the office, flashing her tentative smile that clearly stated 'you-owe-me.'

Tsunade just shook her head, waving her away as the door shut with a loud sigh. "I'll see you all tomorrow!" she yelled.

As soon as the door shut, Neji whirled on Sakura.

"Don't think this gets you out of explaining things Kura! I demand to know what happened!" he started, pale eyes narrowing into slits.

Sakura's eyes darkened when he yelled at her but the edge was taken off when Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes, immediately drawing away from the two. He shook his head as he began trailing after Kiba, Hinata and Genma, no longer interested in the spat between Neji and Sakura. Honestly, how many times had he heard this same sequence?

"Demand all you want Neji. You know you're just going up against a steel wall." He drawled lazily, shaking his head. It was the same thing between those two, day after day – mission after mission. Neji Hyuuga and Sakura Haruno were the youngest of the current ANBU Captains, and naturally, things sometimes got a little heated and competitive between them. One would ask for something, and the other would refuse to give it. The fact that they were also good friends didn't help to mitigate the tension at all. In fact, it made it a little worse because then they would get offended when one refused to share information with the other and such things like that. It was a pointless cycle that happened over and over because well, - in Shikamaru's expert opinion, they were a couple of stubborn fools.

Neji shot a glare at his retreating form and went straight back to Sakura. "What happened last night? I know you guys were the team who brought them in."

Sakura blanched loudly, her eyes widening as the two painstakingly trailed after the others who were already halfway down the hall, chatting happily. "Who the hell told you! That was a classified mission you baka!" she screeched, her eyes livid. Seriously though, who the hell had told? When she found out –

"I have my sources too teme." He smirked, provoking her.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. What the hell…who would have the nerve to pass on classified information? …and then something in her head clicked. In a loud fit of rage, she barreled into him, slamming him into the wall on their left. There was a loud crack as the drywall splintered into a spider-web formation, Neji at its center. He was prepared for her onslaught however and easily caught her against him, only a low grunt escaping his lips as the result of the impact. When the dust cleared, many heads were peaking out of offices and lounges, a bit nervous at the sudden and loud commotion. Iruka and Gai leaned out of the closest doorway, diagonal to where Sakura had Neji pinned to the wall.

"What on earth is going on here!" Iruka shouted, running over as Gai followed him, laughing loudly.

"Iruka-sensei, it's just the Twin Terrors, at it again." He laughed, grinning at the two. Iruka sighed, a dull throbbing already forming in his temple. Here they were again. Two of the youngest and most gifted shinobi in the village. Both extremely brilliant and ridiculously strong, and Jonin to beat. And here they were… bickering like toddlers. Ever since the two had been inducted as ANBU captains, the rivalry had begun and the two had developed quite the notoriety for wreaking havoc when they were at odds. Their reputation had earned them the infamous name of the "Twin Terrors" of Konoha. Devastatingly lethal when they were on their own and absolutely formidable when thrown together.

Iruka quickly stepped up behind Sakura and wrapped his arms around her waist, effectively pulling her out of reach of the boy she was trying to pummel. Both of the younger ninja were arguing and Sakura was screeching something about how she was going to make Neji "eat his source of information." He rolled his eyes and easily lifted Sakura's small form up, hoisting her onto his shoulder. She immediately started yelling louder and lashing out at whoever had her. Neji just glared and scoffed, rubbing his arm and collarbone where angry, red scratches were already making themselves known.

"You're such a brat!" he called back at her, making her launch herself over Iruka's shoulder. The young teacher barely had time to grab onto her legs to keep her from falling and from reaching the young heir. Neji just narrowed his eyes, and stuck his tongue out at her. It was a very childish act that only happened, of course, around Sakura. He was just about to walk away, when a hand immediately clamped down on his arm, halting his retreat. He turned quickly, glaring at his captor, only to be met by the irritatingly twinkling eyes of his ex-sensei.

"Where are you going Neji?" Gai beamed, dragging the younger man behind him and into the room that he and Iruka had previously occupied. Neji scoffed as he was dragged into the room where Iruka had settled Sakura on a couch across the room. His arm remaining tightly around her waist when he noticed how she edged towards the Hyuuga. Gai guided Neji to a chair and sat him down, keeping his hand on the young man's shoulder. Iruka looked back and forth between the raving, pink-haired beauty he was trying to restrain on his lap and the pale-eyed heir, tense and sulking.

"Will anyone care to explain what the hell is going on?" he sighed, pulling Sakura back against him to get her to relax. She pointed at the young man across the room that just shook his head and turned away.

"That is the problem! He is the most insufferable bastard in the universe!" she screeched, making the males in the room wince at her shrieking. Iruka quickly clamped a hand across her mouth, not fully silencing her, but successfully muffling her vivid curses.

"Shhh, Sakura! Quietly!" he sighed, slowly pulling his hand away when her ranting ceased.

"Okay, what exactly are you fighting about this time?" he asked, suddenly dreading the stupid answer he was sure to receive.

Neji crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "I was just asking Princess, what she knew about Naruto and Sasuke's return." He stated simply. His voice was cool as he shot her an irritated glare. Iruka started when he finally absorbed Neji's words.

Did he just say Naruto?

His mind came to a blank. He stared at Neji, looking like he had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world… which in this case, was the most ridiculous thing in Iruka's world.

"Naruto's back?" he asked his voice barely over a whisper.

The tension in the room immediately diffused when Sakura and Neji heard the older man's quiet tone. Sakura pulled herself up and turned to look down at him. Iruka sat, staring blankly out at the windows across the room that overlooked the village.

To think, Naruto was probably already out there wreaking havoc and he hadn't known about it…

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Next chapter up soon. I know it's been a year, but alas, life comes first. I promise it is on the way. Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, you all keep me writing.

- Serena


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